The Moon and The Bird
by Hotaruhara
Summary: Two new members were added into the Keroro Platoon, and they're both assassins! But there is a secret behind this incident. The arrival of these two is not mere coincidence. What is hidden behind these two Keronians and what battles will begin?
1. One: Enter Assassin Siblings

The Moon and The Bird

Disclaimer: I don't own Keroro Gunso. It's Mine Yoshizaki's copyrighted property.

Author's Note: This is my first Keroro Gunso story. Personally, I don't think I'm good in writing stories, but if you're kind enough to review and tell me which part I could do better, please do. And here's an additional spoiler in italic (Read if you want to). _This story has something to do with a few of Nostradamus' prophecies. _Again, if you're curious enough to find them in the internet, go ahead._ (And if you did, note that I interpreted it how I wanted, so the real historical meaning, if it does have one, differs from that of this story). _Well, enjoy and review.

* * *

Encounter I: Enter Assassin Siblings  
- POV: Lance Corporal Dororo -

It was a snowy day in December 1st as Pekopon slowly approaches the 21st century. I was leaping on rooftops, heading towards my house. I had an appointment with Koyuki, and I didn't want to show up late. The landscape below me gradually changes from that of a white town into one of an equally white bamboo forest. I landed quietly on the snow covered ground and ran through the tall bamboos until I arrived in front of a frozen river. My little cabin was right across.

As soon as I was inside my house, I lighted a candle to warm up and looked around. It seemed like Koyuki wasn't home from her walk with Natsumi yet. I assumed that she would be there a few minutes later. And my prediction was right. A fraction of the wall near me turned to reveal a familiar girl with green eyes sticking to it. She unstuck herself from the wall and walked next to me.

She gave me her usual feline smile. "You're always the first one here, Dororo."

"Thank you, Lady Koyuki." I replied.

"So, today we're planning on raking snow?" Koyuki asked. All I did was nod. Her warm eyes looked straight at me. "Well, we should gather our equipments then. Do we have everything we need ready?"

"I prepared the rakes and salt."

"Matchsticks?"

"Matchsticks? What for?"

"Don't they use matchsticks to melt down the ice?"

"The people here use salt for that."

"Oh… I guess I need to learn more about normality."

Her eyes saddened for a moment. For some unknown reasons, I felt bad saying what I said. Maybe I should've just answered "Oh, right" and go to find some matchsticks when she asked about them instead of asking back. Or maybe…

"You did nothing wrong Dororo." Koyuki suddenly said. She must've noticed that my expression changed, though only for a brief minute. "It's not your fault that I didn't know about the normal culture here."

"But I should've told you."

My companion just smiled again. She's always so cheerful. "Look, let's forget about it and start the mission, alright?" Yup, sometimes I wish I was like her. All I want was some attention and not being forgotten again and again.

Well, that wish will have to wait. Conserving Pekopon is my top priority.

* * *

We arrived at a lone park. Little was there other than us. The exceptionally freezing weather must've been the reason of the absence.

"Time to work!" Koyuki declared optimistically. I looked up at her. She's so cute.

The two of us started raking the thick snow and sprinkle salt over them. I could hear some passersby whispering about how diligent Koyuki was. It's no surprise. They couldn't see me after all. I was forgotten, again. I fought back as hard as I could against my trauma switch and went back to my work.

By the time we cleared most of the park, the place was totally empty. Everyone must've gone home due to the cold condition. Looks like heaters are far more interesting than watching volunteers raking snow in the winter.

Then, I felt a presence in the air. I turned a behind to look at Koyuki. The kunoichi seemed to have sensed it too. We stood closer to each other, hands raised in front defensively with weapons.

"How many auras do you feel, Dororo?" She whispered to me.

I thought before answering. "Two. One is light and free, but for some reason it's branching unnaturally. The owner of this aura must be one associated with the air element, and currently has problems to solve."

"What about the other one?"

"It's quite faint," I replied, unsure. "This one is… Dark, and yet some parts glow in the color of light. I had no idea what to say about the owner of it. It's… Confusing." I grumbled at my last word. Since when were things confusing for me? It felt strange.

Koyuki looked at me intensely. "You know… I felt only one aura."

"Eh…?" Koyuki missing an aura? That's impossible!

She frowned. "I didn't sense the second one. This is the first time I mis-"

Right before she could finish her sentence, an object crashed on top of a huge pile of snow left on the section of the park that we haven't cleared. It seemed to be a small sized Keronian spaceship. Far too small for more than one Keronian.

Despite the size statement, two Keronians climbed out of it.

The first one was a male tadpole with the description of the first aura I sensed. He had the color of sterling grey and a medical mask. He bore the same white skull cap I have with the same white cloth hanging loose around his face. His round eyes were deep blue. His symbol was a Pekoponian nut known as almond. He was sporting a deactivated wing pack on his back.

There was a female tadpole next to him, the second aura surrounding her. Her body had the same shade of grey the male one had, but she had no mask. Instead, the cloth draping from her rose skull cap was translucent violet, and it went all around her head as a veil and a backdrop, the frontal part covering her red, slanted eyes. Her symbol was a moon in its eclipse state.

"Who are you?" I asked cautiously as I prepared my katana.

"Not like you want to know, nosy." The male teased. The female popped a vein and hit her friend's head. Koyuki and I watched, sweatdropping.

"Ow… Sis, you're always so mean to me…" The male said, revealing that they were siblings, not friends. "Why do you hate me so much…?"

"I never hated you," The female replied gruffly. "I merely disciplined you."

"Uh, excuse me…" Koyuki tried to get attention. "Who are you?"

The two strangers turned to look at us, then straightened themselves up as if they were facing their superiors. Although they were not…

"I am Second Corporal Toriri, a C-class assassin." The male one saluted. "This is my sister, Sergeant Major Tsukiki, an A-class assassin, also a ninja. We've been sent by HQ to be the Keroro Platoon's new members!"

I blinked, twice. "You've been sent by HQ to what?"

The female introduced as Tsukiki handed me a letter. "You're Lance Corporal Dororo, correct? See for yourself then. Together with your comrades, of course."

* * *

"Alright then!" Keroro declared. The whole platoon, plus Toriri and Tsukiki were sitting in the meeting room of the secret base. "Today, I accept the both of you as the Keroro Platoon's newest recruits!"

Mois smiled. "You could say, additional members?"

"We're not just recruits, Sergeant Keroro." Tsukiki scowled. "We already have ranks. Toriri is only one place lower than your mobile infantry, Corporal Giroro. And I'm already of the same rank as your highest ranking officer, Sergeant Major Kururu."

Everyone, including me, sweatdropped. "Looks like you really studied us."

Suddenly, a yell scared the life out of a particular person, eh… Frog.

** "STUPID FROG!!! YOU HAVEN'T SCRUBBED THE TOILET FLOOR YET!!!"**

Keroro immediately sweated like crazy. "I-I'm coming, Lady Natsumi!" And with that, he ran out of the door, therefore ending the meeting as the leader was absent.

"Who the hell screamed just now…?" Toriri complained in a childish tone.

"The monstrous queen of the house." Kururu blankly replied.

Tsukiki rolled her eyes. "Give me a break. That's clearly the yelling of a young Pekoponian girl, for goodness sake. Your leader seems afraid of her, though…"

"That's because the Sergeant had been cruelly beaten several times by her." Tamama explained, completely clueless to what his sentence might be responded with.

"Hah! It must've been funny!" Toriri laughed.

"Tch. What kind of a leader is afraid of a single girl?" Tsukiki flinched. "I'd rather have a snail as one. In any case, the meeting's over right? I'm leaving. Come on, Toriri, we're going to find a place to stay." She did a few hand symbols and raised purple mist with it. When it disappeared, she was gone.

"If I were right," Tamama added silently. "Isn't Natcchi afraid of snails?"

Toriri faced the rest of us with a broken smile. "Sorry about that. She's mean, I can't deny that. Most of her strange ninja techniques are harsh and could be quite brutal. But deep down, she has a gentler inner self that she rarely showed. Her dark side just developed better than her light side, thus taking control of her mind. She needs some time to associate with other people, so please give her a chance to get used to everyone. Please?"

The rest of us looked at each other, and then looked back at him. Ironically, I was the only one who nodded. Giroro and Tamama emitted a slightly dark aura. Kururu didn't need an explanation. He was chuckling away, as evil as always.

Toriri looked sadly at the ground. "Well, I'll go catch up with her. If I don't, I'll probably get scolded again. See you then." He did a high jump to the air vent on the ceiling and vanished from our view.

Right then, the intense atmosphere of the room broke. I looked at Giroro, Tamama and Kururu with slight annoyance while Mois watched from a distance.

"Why didn't you guys nod?" I complained.

"I don't like the girl." Giroro confessed. "The boy is okay, but not the girl."

Tamama merely looked at the ground, not daring to look up.

"I'm confused…" Mois mumbled. "You could say, uncertain?"

Kururu disappeared into a hole on the floor, still chuckling.

The uncomfortable atmosphere came back as I teleported out of the now silent room. I hated it when people can't relent to make others happy. So selfish.

* * *

"Tsukiki? Toriri?" I shouted into a dark cave. I managed to track them down with my assassin magic and found them in a solitary coniferous forest. It took fairly long though. By the time I found them, it was night. I waited for a while, then a series of small steps came. A grey tadpole emerged from the shadows.

"Lance Corporal Dororo." Tsukiki blankly said. "What do you want?"

"Well, I was just wondering. In a coniferous forest like this, only gymnosperm plants grow. From what I know, their cones are inedible. What will you eat?"

Her eyes remained calm as she looked at me. They reminded me of Saburo's eyes; Only the silver haired boy's eyes were bright blue instead of blood red. "I am an adept ninja assassin, unlike my brother who is a mere novice compared to me. I stuffed our ship with canned food. As for the water, we can melt ice. It's winter after all. And if we ever run out of food, that would be in the next 2 months when winter turns into spring. We can easily hunt for food after that happens."

I bobbed my head. "You're really well prepared, I see. Well then, I have nothing to worry about the both of you." I concluded as I turned away.

"Wait."

I stopped abruptly. I had a rough estimation of what was coming.

"Toriri told me of your comrades' opinion of me." She said in an emotionless tone.

"Ah… About that…" I quickly searched through my mind for the right words.

"It's alright." Tsukiki continued. "Tell them I came here on my own free will. If I didn't want to come I won't anyway, even if HQ orders me to."

"Even if that means you're disobeying orders from your superior?"

She scoffed. "I don't care."

I shrugged. "If you insist. By the way, where's Toriri?"

"He went on a walk. He said he wanted to study the terrains of this area."

"I guess there really is nothing to worry about you." I turned around to leave. The beautiful moonlight shone on us. "I'll be going now. Take care, Tsukiki, Toriri." And with that, I leaped to the nearest branch.

After jumping from tree to tree for a few minutes, I heard a faint whisper.

"Thank you, Lance Corporal; Although it's a bit late to say that."

I smiled. "You're welcome, Tsuki-" Wait. I was 600 meters away from the cave.

"......Who said that......?"

~ End of Encounter

* * *

_What lies behind the shadowed side of the moon?  
The answer had been longed to be known.  
Sacred secret will be revealed soon,  
but only to those who has the right to own._

-- 963


	2. Two: Pekopon Suit & Split Personalities

The Moon and The Bird

Disclaimer: I don't own Keroro Gunso. It's Mine Yoshizaki's copyrighted property.

Author's Note: Sorry for the really long wait! My laptop broke down due to reisha virus and I need to restore everything without anyone's help because nobody would help me. Luckily I keep all my stories in a backup file to anticipate things like this. I decided to insert a little original poem connected to the story in the end of every chapter. They're like hints to the end of the story. Thank you for being my first reviewer, Aztek! And really, my OCs are good? Gee, thanks too, xxSkitten! By the way, that's not DoroxTsuki at the end. It's just an expression of gratitude. Yes, .Trench.x, it may not seem like it but I am an occult fan like Fuyuki. UnknownNewbie-chan… I also don't know what Mary/Gary-sue is. Sorry! As for the others who also wanted to review, please be gentle with me because I'm an amateur **Indonesian** writer who lacks vocabulary and often gets writer's blocks. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Encounter II: Pekopon Suit and Split Personalities?  
- POV: Natsumi Hinata -

It was 6.30, Wednesday morning… Wednesday? That meant 2 hours sports lesson! I leaped from my bed and rushed off to my closet to grab random underwear, then ran to the bathroom as quickly as possible, slamming the door behind me. Of course, I didn't forget to stick a note on the bathroom door, written on it: 'currently being used by SUMMER, do not disturb' with the last 3 words in bolded capital letters.

Once I finished bathing, I ran back to my bedroom just as quick as before and slammed the door, also locking it from inside. Nobody, and I mean _nobody_, invades a girl's privacy, especially when she wants to change her clothes!

By the time I finished changing, it was 6.40. I had to wake Fuyuki, or else he'd be late for school, again. I unlocked my door and walked to another door in the corridor with a small board hanging on it, written WINTER. I thought I heard snoring. Fuyuki was still asleep!? That stupid, slacker frog must've given my beloved little brother his darn lazy personality!

I swung the door open and stomped to Fuyuki's bed, then shook him off, thus waking him up. And I'm glad I did because by the time his eyes were open, it was 6.45.

"Oh… My head…" He moaned. "Ah, good morning, sis…"

** "Stop your stupid incoherent blabbering and take a bath! You have only 15 minutes before school starts, so GO BEFORE I CONSIDER DRAGGING YOU TO THE BATHROOM!!!"**

"Aaaahhh!!! Roger, sis!" And with that he ran away to the bathroom.

I sighed. Kids these days… I'm just glad that he actually got ready on time. Though our school wasn't too far from our house, we only had 10 minutes left.

"NAATSUUMII…!!!"

I'd knew that voice anywhere. I turned around to look at the backyard's glass door and saw a familiar face behind it; Upside down, that is.

A girl smiled at me. "Come on, we're late for school! Let's take the shortcut!"

"Uh, Koyuki… Does this shortcut include rooftops…?"

"Yup!" She answered with a feline grin.

I shuddered at the idea. "N-No thanks, then. I'll take the usual route."

"If you say so." Koyuki said. She jumped down with a flip and landed gracefully. Being a ninja seems nice. I wonder how it feels…

"Hey, Koyuki." I started as I slid the door open. "How does it feel being a ninja?"

The dark haired girl stepped in. "You mean being shinobi no mono?"

"I think that's the old way of saying it. Well…?"

Fuyuki coughed. "Sis, it's 6.52."

I turned around to face him. "What!?"

Koyuki took a quick glance at the clock. "He's right, Natsumi. I'll be taking my leave. Take care, alright? And make sure you're not late!" Then she disappeared in a puff of smoke. She and her efficient ninja techniques. I wish I could teleport like her.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Fuyuki? An invitation?" I grinned. "Let's go!"

"Coming, sis!"

* * *

Despite the fact that we were almost late, Fuyuki and I chatted as we walked.

"Another stupid frog moved in!?" I exclaimed after Fuyuki told me the news.

My little brother nodded cheerfully. "The sergeant thought he hid him, or her well, but yesterday I caught glimpses of a grey Keronian going down the basement. He, or she, has a white mask on his, or her, face, like the one Dororo has."

I wondered. "An assassin? Well, if he, or she, has the same kind heart like Dororo has, I wouldn't mind. But if he, or she… I'm getting tired of repeating this… Has the same personality as that stupid frog, I'm going to kick he, or she… Geez… Out!"

Fuyuki smiled. "By the way, we've arrived already. And we're just in time before the bell rings. Come on, sis, we have to run at full speed!"

"Running is easy for me, but not for you, isn't it?"

"Oh, right…"

* * *

Right when I sat down on my chair, the bell rang. I wondered if Fuyuki got to his seat on time. Whatever, I'll find out soon anyway. I waited patiently for the teacher to arrive. And there he was, right at the door; Together with a stranger behind him.

"Good morning class!" He said. "Today we have a new student here!"

Everyone got excited. I could feel it. Even I was excited. Then, a tall, slim girl walked in casually. She had silky, violet hair with streaks of silver that reached past her shoulders. There were other stunning features of her, but her eyes caught most of my attention. They were blood red and piercing, almost… _Hypnotic_.

Whoa, wait! What was I thinking!? She was a new student, for goodness sake! How could I judge her so early before even knowing her personality, let alone her name! How did those thoughts get into me anyway…?

"Students, meet your new classmate, Shoku Tsukimachi!" The teacher declared.

Shoku drew a faint smile. "Hello, everyone. I am Shoku Tsukimachi, a transfer student from Marion High School. I wish to develop good relations with all of you."

Everyone started whispering about this new girl, Shoku. I even overheard someone planning on getting her as her friend and other positive things. But I was different.

"Hey, Koyuki. Don't you think there's something strange about her?" I whispered to the kunoichi who was sitting beside me. She replied me with a slight nod.

"Yes, Natsumi. And there's something oddly familiar about her aura…"

"You do? Did you meet her somewhere or knew her by a chance?"

"No." Koyuki frowned. "But it's possible that I felt her aura, somehow…"

"Well, Tsukimachi, please take the seat behind Azumaya." The teacher gestured.

What!? Creepy girl sitting behind Koyuki? I didn't like that idea…

"I'm sorry," Shoku replied. "But if you don't mind, I'll just take that seat on the corner, please." She said as she pointed to a lone seat in the darkest corner at the back of the classroom. Everyone turned to look at the seat meant with strange expressions.

I also turned my head to look at that seat and visualized the words 'THE HAUNTED SEAT' stamped on it in red, bolded, capital letters, together with effects such as a rainy cemetery background with extreme lightning and thunder.

The fact that I was trembling because of my own imagination was even weirder.

"Uh, alright…" The teacher relented. "Any particular reasons why?"

Shoku sent him with a chilling smile, but didn't say a word.

"O-Okay…" Man, I swear, the teacher was shaking so hard that the whole class could easily tell that he was scared by this… suspicious, new girl.

* * *

Finally! Sports lesson, the lesson I've been looking forward into! But I bet this was no surprise to anyone, because practically everyone knows me; Natsumi, the athletic princess! Or at least that's what I heard from conversations that I eavesdropped on…

Anyway, since today was the weird new girl, Shoku's first day, everyone showed her parts of the gym, and also the storage where the equipments were kept. After all those troublesome fuss, we got on to the real fun!

"Alright then, today we will be having our freestyle gymnastic test, like what I told you two weeks ago." The teacher announced. "Tsukimachi, are you okay with this?"

Shoku shrugged. "Sure, miss. I'm used to sudden exams."

I shifted uneasily. This girl seemed as if she had split personalities; One nice and friendly, the other one creepy and mysterious. She reminded me of Momoka.

"She might be weird inside, but outside, she's casual and professional," Koyuki noted. "As if she had done this a lot of times before. What do you think, Natsumi?"

I rethought Koyuki's observation. It might be true that she'd been transferred a few times before she got transferred into our school. But if I wanted to confirm that, I would have to confront the school administrator, and that's a bit complicated, so I shook the idea off and told Koyuki why. She reluctantly agreed.

"Everyone, line up!" The teacher ordered. "Tsukimachi, get behind Azumaya."

Shoku responded with a smile. "Alright, miss."

"Good. First up, Yumiko Kanagawa! Ready? GO!"

As the test went on, Koyuki and I waited patiently until our turn arrived. During the long wait, we tried to chat with the new girl. To get information, that is.

"Hey, Tsukimachi," I started with the friendly tone I used on Koyuki when she first moved into this school. "Is this the first time you got transferred?"

The violet haired girl shifted slightly. Now why could that be? "Well, this is my… wait, let me remember… third time of being transferred. But people say I adapt quickly, and I think I know why they say so. I don't know about you though, Hinata."

Hey, Koyuki was right. This girl's act really was casual and professional.

I decided to push the conversation. "Say, do you have any favorite subjects?"

"Subjects… As in school subjects?"

"Yes. Well…?"

She put her right index finger on her chin. "Um… Computer and sports, perhaps."

Sports! Could she be on the same level as I am, or maybe as Koyuki? "Do you think you're pretty good in those lessons? Maybe you got good grades or something?"

"Well, I'm quite confident that I am…"

"Hinata! It's your turn!" And our nicely going conversation was ruined by a shout from the teacher. I didn't complain though. I had been waiting for this after all.

"We'll chat some other time, okay?" I winked at Shoku. She replied with a nod.

The teacher looked at me with expecting eyes. "Ready? GO!"

Right at the mention of go, I ran at a fair speed. I could hear the girls behind me, minus Koyuki of course, squealed with excitement. And minus Shoku too, since she was new and had never seen my performance before. It's always like this at my turn.

When I felt like I had enough speed, I bent my body down and did a handstand, then quickly going back to my feet, face facing my classmates. I grinned and performed a single somersault to the back, twisting my body 180 degrees in the process so that when I landed, it was my back that faced my classmates instead of my face.

"Hmm… From a round-off movement to a back flip…" The teacher judged. "Your performances are always astonishing, Hinata."

I blushed at the remark. "Ah… Thank you…"

"Who do we have after this? Oh, Azumaya! Onto position please!" While the teacher announced the next girl, who was supposed to be Koyuki, I walked to the right section of the gym to watch the kunoichi's moves.

"Do your best, Koyuki!" I yelled. The girl responded with her usual feline grin.

"Ready? GO!"

Koyuki ran in a speed that I could tell was much faster than mine. Then she stopped in the middle of her tracks and jumped really high and performed a triple somersault in midair so easily as if it was nothing. She landed lightly on the floor without making any thump that usually occur when you land on the floor after jumping.

"Your signature triple front flip I see." The teacher commented. "Very nice."

And did I mention that everyone, other than Shoku, also cheered at her? Sometimes I started to consider a sports rivalry between me and Koyuki, but I often push that idea away, thinking that friendship is much better.

Koyuki ran to my side and asked, "How was that?"

"As perfect as always." I praised her. She squealed happily like a little kid. Then I heard a particular conversation about me and Koyuki's performances.

"Wow… Those two are really good…" Shoku wondered.

"They sure are!" Satsuki, who was behind her, answered. "They're the two top athletes in this school. They're always amazing!"

Shoku tilted her head. "Do I have to do it like them too?"

The girls near to her sweatdropped. This was also what happened when Koyuki asked the exact same thing at her first day of school on the same lesson. It brought back old memories. Now that I think of it, I've been friends with Koyuki, Saburo, Momoka and those frogs for 2 years now…

"No, no, Tsukimachi." Yayoi interrupted. "Those are their signature movements! Don't push yourself too much. All you have to do is a simple front roll or back roll like what Kanagawa did the first time. Although harder movements get higher scores…"

"Next, Tsukimachi!" The teacher called out. "Ready? GO!"

This was it. Koyuki and I had been really curious of how her performance might be. Would it be good or bad? Who knows? Just because someone's favorite subject is sports, it doesn't guarantee that the person is good at sports.

But then we saw that Shoku Tsukimachi was in a definitely high level.

She was running really quickly, then did double front flips with handstands. At her last step, she turned around to face everyone, then jumped and did double back flips midair, similar to what Koyuki did, only with her feet pressed together and the tip of her toes touching the top of her head and her arms fully stretched to the front.

Before she landed, she twisted 180 degrees so that her back faced everyone like what I did, the she finished with a light step. Not even a single sound was made from both her performance and every single person in the gym, including me and Koyuki.

"T-Those were..." The teacher tried to muster a sentence, but simply failed due to the sudden shock of what a new transfer student just did.

"Double handstand front flips and double back flip somersaults in balled body position." Shoku herself volunteered to explain. "Sorry, I must've done a mist-"

The gym was immediately filled with cheers and squeals of Shoku's performance.

"Whoa, that was totally awesome! Oh, god, I thought I just saw an angel soaring through the gym! Another rival of Natsumi had just appeared!" And other similar exclamations. To tell the truth, Koyuki and I were equally surprised; And the shock was much greater than the time Koyuki moved into this school.

Truthfully, I didn't like to compare things to get better results, unless it's the shopping world then that system will be accepted by me, but generally I didn't like it.

The action of comparing and contrasting itself is the source of petty rivalries. But this time, I just had to compare this Shoku with Koyuki. And I couldn't deny that Shoku's abilities were in a slightly higher level than both me and the kunoichi.

The two of us walked to the new girl. She easily noticed us and beckoned us to come over. We gladly accepted her invitation and rushed to her side. We have plenty of questions to ask this new 'rival' of mine, as what they said.

"That was really amazing, Tsukimachi!" I praised her with genuine admiration.

"Yeah, where did you learn that? Are you a ninja by any chance?" Koyuki asked.

I facepalmed. "Koyuki, I think we already had enough abnormalities in our life."

"Abnormalities?" Shoku repeated. Drat, she must've overheard me.

"My occult fan little brother, together with his pet frogs and mountains of various Gundam plastic models, and those kinds of things that a girl normally doesn't have in her life." I tried to cover my words.

"That sounds really troublesome…"

I sighed. "They are." Hopefully that ended her suspicion. But it didn't.

"Why don't you give me your address?" She asked with a big smile on her face. "I could help you with the pet frogs. I also have a frog at home, and I handle him well."

"W-What!?" I yelled, unfortunately drawing unwanted attention. Luckily most of the attention were redirected onto a common blue butterfly that someone mistook as the rare Blue Morpho and yelled it out loud, thus causing most everyone to chase it.

"Why don't you give me your address?" Shoku repeated, still with the friendly smile. "If there's a private thing that you have, I'll keep it a secret, so it's okay!"

I shuddered at the thought of Shoku being kidnapped by the Keronians then got used as a guinea pig for the evil Kururu's weird inventions. "Uh, maybe not…"

"Natsumi," Koyuki interrupted, whispering softly. "She might get suspicious."

"But the stupid frogs…"

"Dororo and his friends all have that anti-barrier thing that prevents them from being seen by civilians. If they activate it, Tsukimachi won't be able to see or hear them even if they were making a ruckus. Just keep it low."

"Okay…" I nodded slightly, then turned at Shoku. "Fine. I'll tell you at lunch."

"That's great!" She grinned. Or was that a smirk…?

* * *

"I'm home!" I shouted into the house and got greeted by two people.

"Welcome home, Natsumi!" Fuyuki said. "How's school?"

"Welcome home, Lady Natsumi!" Keroro said. Then I remembered about Shoku.

"Hey, stupid frog?" I called. "We're going to have a special guest today. She's my classmate, and she'll be here at 6 p.m., which is like 20 minutes later, so I'm warning you not to run around the house without your anti-barrier. And tell your friends too."

"A civilian guest?" The stupid frog mumbled. "Alright, Lady Natsumi! I'll inform the platoon immediately!" Then he ran down the corridor and into the basement.

I sighed. "Let's just hope no trouble of any kind will happen, alright, Fuyuki?"

"Alright…"

* * *

The doorbell rang. I stopped cooking the beef teriyaki meant for dinner. The clock showed 6 o'clock. That must be the one I expected at the door. I quickly rushed to the front door and opened it. And there stood Shoku Tsukimachi.

"Good evening, Hinata. I believe it's time for the pet frog consultation?"

I urged myself not to facepalm. "I guess… Come on in, Tsukimachi."

The violet haired girl stepped in. "Well, shall we do it at the living room?"

Then I remembered that the stupid frog built another Gundam model at the living room and there were some pieces of the junk scattered all over the place. Fuyuki was currently on the living room gathering them.

I shook my head. I want a private place. "No, let's do it in my bedroom!"

"Is it okay? I don't want to invade your privacy…"

"As long as you have my permission, it's not invading. Come on!" And with that, I pulled her up a flight of stairs and then to my room. I gestured her to sit on the floor. I quickly followed up to her after closing the door behind me and sat beside her.

"So, we're discussing pet frogs…" Shoku started. "Could you first tell me their personalities please, Hinata?" She asked with a seemingly innocent smile.

"Personalities…? We're talking about frogs, not little brothers…"

"I know! Even frogs have personalities, you know. Only a few people knew, and I'm just one of them. Well then? How many pet frogs do you have?"

I thought for a while. Dororo lived with Koyuki, so he's not a problem. Tamama already had Momoka and Paul as his caretakers. I could handle Giroro, no problem. So… wouldn't that leave the stupid frog and Kururu?

"Two." I said. "Two frogs."

She grinned. "That's easy. Describe the first one and its personality, please."

Well, how could I reject? I came this far, and I won't let her suspicion increase again, or else everyone will know that I'm an alien keeper, and they'll all be against me! "Okay… He's green with black eyes, and he's lazy."

Shoku nodded thoughtfully. "The other one?"

"Well, he's…" And our conversation continued on and on. Shoku kept on giving me solutions to whatever I told her, including the problem that those frogs kept on causing trouble to my life. This girl was good… I wondered if she took psychology lessons. And before we knew it, the clock showed 8 p.m.

"Oh, dear. It's so late!" I said when I noticed the time. "I'm so sorry for keeping you here, Tsukimachi. I'll walk you home at once! Now, please tell me your add-"

"Wait."

I blinked. "What…?"

"Wait." Shoku repeated coldly. She sent me her well-known chilling gaze from her cold, red eyes. I shuddered for a moment. This girl…

"W-What is it, Tsukimachi?" I said with a forced smile.

She shook her head dismissively. "Natsumi Hinata, how deceitful could you be? How could you lie to me, declaring that you have pet frogs when they're actually not your pets, but are part of your family?"

"What!?" I stood up angrily. This girl was off limits! It's true, those frogs weren't exactly my pets, and I had to admit that I already considered them as a family, because if I didn't I wouldn't be cooking food for them. But still… "I'm not lying!"

Shoku closed her eyes and stood up calmly. She then walked to the door.

I popped a vein. "Where are you going!?"

"Unveiling your lie." She said with a confident smile. "Follow me."

"Why should I follow you when this is my house, creepy?" I muttered under my breath, but nevertheless followed her reluctantly. Wait. There was something strange here. This is my house, and I've lived here forever. How come Shoku, who had just came here, already knew the way to the basement?

…Basement…?

"Hey! It's not polite to snoop around people's house!" I yelled when the violet haired girl attempted to go down into the basement. Damn, she might find out about the stupid frog and his friends…!! Is this girl a member of the Black Men!?

Shoku stared at me with emotionless eyes, then silently leaped to the basement floor. I could see her eyes shifting to a particular door with a star on it. Oh, drat…

Then I remembered what Koyuki told me. Those reptiles have anti-barriers that prevent unknown civilians to see them. That would prevent Shoku from seeing them.

Shoku swung open the basement door. I could perfectly see 5 Keronians -Green, black, red, yellow and blue- sitting calmly in the room. Strange, Angol Mois was nowhere to be seen. I made eye contact with the stupid frog and pointed at my own forehead meant to symbolize the anti-barrier switch. He replied me with a thumb pointed up.

The girl in front of me seemed bewildered. Looks like the anti-barrier was a suc-

"And there you go." She suddenly said, right index finger pointing at the frogs. "The absolute prove that you have alien frogs as part of your family."

Silence. No reaction from both me and the Keronians.

"Y-YOU COULD SEE THEM!?!?" I shrieked, then shot a death glare at the scared stupid frog. "I thought I told you to activate the anti-barrier, you moron!"

"I did, Lady Natsumi! I really did!" He squeaked. Giroro confirmed with a nod, and so did Tamama and Dororo. Now I was wondering how Kururu always stay so calm in dire times like this one. "It's true! We activated it already!"

The intense atmosphere was broken by two types of laughter.

"Ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku…!" Kururu chuckled.

"Ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki…!" Shoku snickered.

"W-What the…?" I mumbled. The rest of us stared at the creepy pair.

Kururu laughed while holding his belly. "Man, I can't believe you guys fell for it!"

Everyone sweatdropped. "Fell for what…?"

"Please, don't tell me you guys are really clueless!" Shoku teased. She stopped her laughing fit and straightened herself, then cried. "Ahotorn Form: OFF!"

After a few seconds, in place of the violet haired girl, stood a silver female tadpole with slanted red eyes, staring at all of us. She smirked. "It's me, Tsukiki!"

"Tsu-Tsukiki…?" I repeated. So this was the new member Fuyuki told me. No, wait. Fuyuki's description included a mask. This 'Tsukiki' had no mask. So that meant…

"There you are, sis!"

Oh god, I knew this was coming. That wasn't Fuyuki's voice.

"Man," A grey male tadpole dropped down from the ceiling, practically surprising me. "I've been searching for you the whole day, and you were having fun in that exclusive A-class Pekopon Suit HQ equipped us with!" I looked at his face, and there's the medical mask I've been searching for.

"Ki ki ki, sorry Toriri," Tsukiki snickered. So his name was Toriri? "But this is not the Pekopon Suit HQ gave me. This is the one Kururu built especially for me after I told him my plan on tricking you guys. He also helped me with the school papers."

Everyone's hateful glares fell on Kururu. He seemed okay with it though. I had a feeling that the reason Kururu was vulnerable to Mois was because Mois never looked at him with hatred, but always with innocence. I had to try that later.

"By the way, Sergeant Major Tsukiki," Keroro started. "Did he do it for free?"

Tsukiki blinked twice. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious…" The stupid frog asked. But I could tell from his tone that he was trying to figure out if there were any ways of getting Kururu's assistance for free.

Tsukiki grinned. "Of course not! He made me pay 6000 yen!"

Everyone's jaws dropped to the floor. The jerk made her pay how much…??

"6000 yen for a new Pekopon Suit!? Sis, you're wasting money!" Toriri complained.

"What? It's worth it! If I used my old Pekopon Suit you would easily recognize me and everything will be ruined. Plus, I got to enjoy Kisho High School's facilities."

And the siblings' argument continued on and on. We all listened to it until the two decided to stop and head back to their cave in the woods, at least that's what they said about where they were staying.

* * *

"Hey, stupid frog." I called out. It was 9 p.m. and everyone was having dinner. Tamama went back to the Nishizawa Estate, Dororo left for Koyuki's and Kururu preferred to cook curry for himself in his lab, so that left the stupid frog and Giroro to eat together with Fuyuki and I.

"That Tsukiki…" I asked. "Does she have split personalities? Sometimes she acts nice, but in the other times she's creepy. She's your new member, right? I'm pretty sure you could tell." I finished as I downed my eighth chunk of beef.

Keroro swallowed everything in his mouth before answering my question. "Actually, she only came here yesterday afternoon, so I didn't know much about her. And yes, she does have split personalities, or at least that's what Second Corporal Toriri said. And I asked Kururu to hack the Keron Army's files for her full data, just in case she has more than two split personalities so we could handle her later." Right after he explained, he shoved a big piece of meat into his mouth.

"Are you sure Kururu's not going to be thrown into jail for hacking military data because of _your_ request?" I asked. I think my statement made him choke on that meat he was chewing. I ignored his situation and turned to the red Keronian sitting across me. "Hey, Giroro, how's my cooking?"

I couldn't really tell, but he seemed to choke too when I talked to him. Weird.

He coughed. "Ugh… It needs to be a little sweeter, but the overall is okay."

"Hmm… I guess I'll make sure I add more sugar next time." I said to myself.

The dinner went on well without any kind of havoc whatsoever. I wished that tomorrow will be the same. That reminded me; I had to tell Koyuki that Shoku was actually another alien. I guess I'd have to do it tomorrow at school.

~ End of Encounter

* * *

_The earth shakes in terrible fear,  
Birds hid in a gloomy hollow.  
By the water, a dark force will appear,  
The end of a hundred years will soon follow._

-- 963


	3. Three: Second Day Rumble

The Moon and The Bird

Disclaimer: I don't own Keroro Gunso. It is Mine Yoshizaki's copyrighted property.

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the quite long wait. I still don't know what Mary/Gary-sue is, so I'm sorry if there's any in here. This is a Tsukiki centric chapter that has nothing to do with the plot. Simply put, it's a silly, pointless side chapter. The setting is at Kisho School and I'm sorry if the details aren't appropriate because I'm not a high school student, I don't know what kinds of lessons high school students have (Math, Chemistry, Biology, etc?) and I don't really know how Japanese schools are like. But I do know that they don't have moving classes, except when they go to the labs. There will be some scientific words in here, for example phenolphthalein. If you don't know any of them, just mention it in the reviews. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Encounter III: Second Day Rumble  
- POV: Sergeant Major Tsukiki –

It was the 3rd of December as Pekopon slowly approaches its new century. It was also my second day in Kisho High School as a fake transfer student. Yesterday, I revealed to the Natsumi Hinata and the Keroro Platoon that I was disguised in a Pekopon Suit the whole day.

I bolted up from my mattress and threw my purple blanket aside. My little brother, Toriri was still fast asleep next to me. I'd better go before he wakes up. My feet touched the cold floor of the dark cave – Not comfortable for my bare Keronian feet. I reached up to the symbol on my forehead and pressed it. A few seconds later, I was in my Pekopon Suit. My feet felt much better.

My school bag and Kisho High School uniform were hanging on a tree outside the cave. Since no Pekoponian other than that Koyuki girl past this place, those things will never get stolen. And just in case any of you reading this are curious, my Pekopon Suit came with dark red, sleeveless sweater over a lavender shirt tucked in sterling grey trousers and a mechanical belt.

And there was a panel located somewhere in the belt which function was to alter the clothes and hairstyle, but I didn't bother using it because I didn't know how to access it. And if I had to use it someday, I'll just ask that genius Kururu to do it for me.

I took my uniform, went back into the cave and changed before my brother woke up. Though he's my brother, I didn't want him to see me without clothes. Nobody, and I mean nobody, invades a girl's privacy, especially when she's changing her clothes.

After I was done, Toriri woke up with a huge yawn. He scratched the back of his head. Then he noticed me right before I wanted to leap to a nearby branch.

"Ah, is that you sis…?" He asked, still half asleep. "Why up so early?"

"School." I simply said, then jumped to a low bough. The cave was quite far from Kisho High School, so I had to depart early in the morning to make sure I won't be late. Anyway, I had to concentrate on going to school, so this explanation stops now.

* * *

The school bell rang. I was already sitting comfortably in my seat in the corner, also continuously answering questions from the Koyuki girl. It seemed like Natsumi told her about my disguise. Wonder if she told her about my split personality…

"So, you are Dororo-san's newest friend?" The dark haired girl asked curiously. I nodded casually. She squealed with excitement. When she wanted to ask her next question, the door was slid open by the teacher.

"Azumaya-san, you have your own place, go sit on it." He said.

"Yes, sensei." Koyuki answered obediently and walked to her seat.

The teacher coughed before starting the lesson. "Alright, take out your Math textbook and open page 172. We're going to re-learn coordinates. I'm sure everyone knows what it is."

I took my Math book from the drawer and flipped open the wanted page. The lesson was started with introduction to the topic, then continued with discussions and sample questions. Finally, we came to the exercise questions.

"Natsumi Hinata," The teacher pointed at the surprised redhead. "If coordinates (-8x)(2y), (4x)(2y), (7x)(5y) and (-5x)(5y) are converted into a mirroring position, what will the new coordinates be respectively?"

I could tell the redhead sucked at Math; Her expression told me that she was frantically looking for an answer in her mind. Poor Natsumi =p

"Um… I think, wait… Let me think… Uh…" She mumbled. "(-8x)(-2y), uh… (4x)(-2y) and then… (-7x)(5y)… uh, and…" The nervous redhead gulped. "(-5x)(-5y), maybe?"

The teacher shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you made a mistake. The mirrored position of (7x)(5y) is (7x)(-5y). This is a very, and I mean very easy question for a 10th grader, but you can't solve it correctly. You have to study harder, **Hinata-san**."

Natsumi stared at the floor, not daring to look up. "Y-Yes, sir..."

"Shoku Tsukimachi. If coordinate (-5x)(5y) of the previous set was replaced with (-8x)(5y) and (-8x)(2y) is replaced with (-5x)(2y), then an extra coordinate of (0x)(8y) is added into the set, what shape will be formed if you connect the coordinates with straight, untangled lines?"

"A pentagon." I answered calmly.

Silence. Okay, why didn't the teacher tell me if I'm right or wrong?

"How long was the time gap between my question and your answer?" He asked.

I blinked. "2 seconds. Why? Did I do anything wrong? Or was it my answer…"

Cheers replaced the silent situation from before. My classmates surrounded me and questioned me with sentences like, "How did you count so fast?" or "How the hell did you do that so quickly?" or "How much is your IQ?" or similar things to those.

I just didn't get these Pekoponians. Answering a question in 2 seconds wasn't something special, was it…? I'm a well educated ninja assassin. I could've answered it before the teacher even finished his sentence. And yet I chose the 'normal' way, answering it after a gap of time. But these stupid Pekoponians didn't seem to be able to let anything go without a commotion.

* * *

**A/N:** We'll use a piece of your time to review Shoku's, as in Tsukiki's opinion. Can any of you readers solve the previous question meant for her in 2 seconds before she revealed the answer to you? Unless you're a superior genius, I don't think so. Well, back to the story.

* * *

Lessons went after lessons, and before we knew it, the bell rang, indicating lunch time. I reached into my bag for the lunchbox I prepared last night. And yes, I was fully aware that the food would get cold. That's why I planned on heating it up with my assassin magic before eating. Of course, I'd have to do it in a lone place.

I walked out of the class, trying to be as silent as possible. I slipped away, unnoticed by most people. That ninja girl Koyuki saw me and almost called my name out loud, but I gave her a silence sign before she did.

Koyuki gave me a look that said "What is it?"

I snapped my fingers and a small piece of paper, together with a pen, appeared out of nowhere in my left hand. I quickly scribbled some words and threw the note to her with a quick flick of my wrist while the pen disappeared in a puff of smoke.

She caught the note and read it, then nodded. I gave her a faint smile and walked away.

* * *

"Assassin Magic: Hands of Warmth." I whispered, both of my hands holding the lunchbox. I was sitting on the school's backyard, or more precisely, somewhere on the branches of the various trees planted there.

My current Pekoponian hands radiated with warm light, therefore heating up the cold food. I didn't move a muscle for a few minutes, not wanting to disrupt the balance of the spreading heat. Finally, the process was done. I opened the lid gently to avoid excess force that would cause the lunchbox to slip and plop to the ground.

"Ittadakkimasu." I said, then took the chopsticks prepared beforehand in the box and started nibbling on a piece of raw salmon. Hmm… That tasted quite nice. Next I chewed on a chunk of oiled tuna. I downed the rest of the food in the next 15 minutes. That was way faster compared to when I had to eat space yakiniku. Looks like Pekoponian food wasn't so bad after all.

I closed the box with a wide smile on my face. That was a great meal. I plucked a few leaves from a random twig and used them to wipe my mouth clean. I grasped my lunchbox tightly and leaped to the ground. I looked up to the clear blue sky. Pekopon's clouds sure were different from those back in Keron. These clouds had no definite shape. Keron's clouds were mostly star-shaped.

_Planet Pekopon… is an interesting place,_ I thought as I walked back into the main building.

* * *

"What's the next lesson, Hinata-san?" I asked casually.

"Ah, Tsukimachi-san," Natsumi smiled. "The next lesson is science."

"Let me guess, chemistry?" I confirmed.

The redhead nodded. I had a feeling that she forgot about what happened at Math class. She looked so cheerful right now. Well, I'd better not disrupt the nice atmosphere.

"I see." I smiled back and turned my back. "Thank you, Hinata-san." Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to look at Natsumi. She looked a little annoyed. "What?"

"Would you stop calling me with my surname?" She said. "We humans call each other with their front names, not their surnames. I understand if you're not used to this because frogs like you don't have surnames, but at least follow the culture here."

I tilted my head to the side. "But I heard that calling with front names indicates a strong relationship between each other. Though I might already be like a family to you since I'm also part of the Keroro Platoon, these civilians don't know about that, right?"

Natsumi facepalmed. What's up with that reaction? "Do you never notice how Koyuki-chan and I call each other with our front names?"

I shook my head. Honestly, I didn't notice such a thing.

"Calling people of the same gender with their front name is not an unusual thing! The real unusual thing is to _not_ call them with their front names, so I don't care if you're unwilling but call me Natsumi-_chan_ instead of Hinata-san from now on, got it?" The athletic girl complained.

I grumbled silently. "Fine, Natsumi-_chan_. And does that mean you'll start calling me Shoku?"

She shrugged. "Well, why not? Koyuki-chan started today, so why can't I?"

"Whatever." I said as I shooed her with my hand. "You got what you want, so get lost."

"Get lost to where? We're having a lesson after this! I can't skip class like it's nothing!"

"Right…"

* * *

Chemistry lesson was never easy for me, although I'm a well educated ninja assassin that knew almost every element… At least at Keron. I liked experimenting and mixing chemicals as much as I liked training and meditating, but it didn't mean that I had the same great potential on both.

I had a fairly bad experience with sulphuric acid, and it was all thanks to a nosy classmate that I spilled quite an amount onto my arm, forming an excruciating tattoo-like burn mark.

I shuddered at the traumatic memory. I shook my head and mentally threw the thought out the little disposal window in my mind. The teacher strode in started explaining today's project.

"Listen kids, today we're going to conduct a little experiment with acids…"

I thought my stomach lurched at the mention of acid. Urgh…

"And alkalis." The teacher said. "We'll also use ph indicators. I'll point out the apparatus you'll need. But first, form groups of five. I'll give you 10 minutes, starting from now."

Everyone scampered here and there like an army of ants. The situation made me dizzy. I've had enough of unusual events. First the Math commotion, then the bullies, and now Chemistry! I felt the presence of a hand stretching out behind me. Before I could react, someone pulled me to his… or her, side. I turned around to see a fraction of my lab coat being pulled by Koyuki. Natsumi and two other girls that the redhead told me as Satsuki Shiwasu and Yayoi Shimotsuki were standing behind her.

"Shoku, do you want to join our group?" The kunoichi asked. "We still need one member!"

"Uh… I think-" I stuttered, but then gave up to the situation. I can't possibly not join the activities of the class and just ignore it. There was no other choice. "Alright… Just don't make me handle the chemicals. I had a bad trauma with acid."

The girl nodded cheerfully. I liked that smile of hers. It looked like one of a little feline. It was as if her happiness was spread everywhere by that unique smile…

And was it just me, or did I actually forgot about my trauma just now?

Soon, the whole class assembled into several groups. The teacher gave a list of the things we needed to get from the cupboard and distributed the chemicals we were going to use. He also gave our group a bottle of potassium hydroxide, phenolphthalein and formic acid, which he told us not to touch as it was formed in bee stings. The teacher allowed us to do the experiments to our own liking. That would mean that we may do anything we want to the chemicals, other than consuming them or splashing them to other students (Like I want to do that anyway).

Satsuki suggested adding droplets of phenolphthalein to a small beaker of potassium hydroxide, and then neutralize the rest of the alkali by mixing it with the formic acid. _(A/N: I'm sure that everyone knows potassium hydroxide is alkaline. Even if you didn't, now you do.)_

Natsumi's face showed obvious confusion when Yayoi asked to hand her the bottle of potassium hydroxide. I think this redhead not only sucked at Math, but also at Science. I pointed out which bottle contained the wanted chemical. She thanked me and handed the thing over to the black haired girl who seemed as if she had waited for hours.

As the experiment went on with no trouble whatsoever, I started to regret asking them not to make me handle chemicals because the request resulted in me not getting a part other than pointing out chemicals to a very confused Natsumi. So I suggested another experiment for the group, which they simply agreed to because the other ones were done.

I noticed that there were a few amounts of various metals left by the past Science class. I quickly indentified some as magnesium and asked Koyuki to take it without being noticed by anybody. Then I grabbed a test tube and filled it with potassium hydroxide. Soon, Koyuki came back with two pieces of magnesium. I dropped them into the test tube and stirred them with a glass rod. The suspension produced effervescence, but nothing really interesting happened.

Then an idea came to me from nowhere. I asked for a lighted splint from the teacher. He told me that he couldn't give me what I wanted without a good reason, but I was a bit too pushy and _accidentally_ used a brainwashing ninjutsu on him. In the end, he gave me what I wanted.

The other 4 girls watched me, or rather the lighted splint, with curious eyes. I reached my hand out to position the splint on top of the test tube. Suddenly, the fire extinguished with a pop. The sound caught the attention of the other groups and also, unfortunately, the teacher.

"Tsukimachi-san!" He exclaimed. "Who gave you the permission to ignite that?!"

I gulped and made up a reason, which was actually real. "You gave it to me, sir."

He frowned. "How do I know that you didn't take it yourself from my shelf?"

"As far as I know, the teacher's shelf is always locked." I said, regaining my calmness.

The middle-aged man thought for a while. "Oh, right. I must've forgotten. Sorry about that, Tsukimachi-san. I'll give you a little bonus score for your next test as apologize."

My eyes widened with pleasure. That would be a total boost to my Science grades since they were usually only a little lower than the grade required for passing.

"You know what," Natsumi sighed. "You're one lucky girl."

I grinned. Poor, poor Natsumi. I bet she was wishing that everyday had Sports lesson.

* * *

That was my first Chemistry class that went smoothly without any accident that involved painful physical contact (Like being splashed with corrosive acid that someone probably thought as splash cologne, which had never happened before – But might later).

Life on Pekopon might be easier and nicer than I thought it was back in Keron. Plus, considering the interval of the number of the dangerous elements on both planets, I'd say that Pekopon is much safer.

"Koyuki-chan, what's the next lesson?" I asked.

The kunoichi scrambled trough her agenda for the schedule. "Next up is computer lesson."

I drew a faint smile on my face. Electronics are something fun that my brain could handle fairly well. I remembered when I was once assigned as an intelligence officer in the Keron Army, but then they moved me into the assassin troops since the instructor said that he noticed a bigger potential for combat in me which was, seemingly, higher than my level of programming and hacking.

Now that I think of it, I wondered why they didn't assign me in an infantry barrack instead.

In any case, I was still excited. It has been years since my last computer lesson.

But soon, my excitement was crashed with sudden news that the teacher couldn't attend to the class because of a certain family problem. Finally, computer lesson was converted into an extra chemistry class. I thought I started to pity Natsumi _and_ myself.

In any way, I was powerless. So there was nothing I could do but go on with the flow.

* * *

"Alright," The previous chemistry teacher, Minazuki-sensei declared. "We all had fun doing experiments with acids, alkalis and ph indicators. Now, we're all going to learn about atoms, protons, neutrons, and the similar stuff. Get to your last formed groups, now!"

Natsumi, Koyuki, Satsuki, Yayoi and I scurried to the table on the far left corner of the classroom. I plopped myself down to the chair and casually took out my book while the others also did the exact same thing. As soon as everybody got a group, the teacher started to talk.

He coughed before starting the lesson. "Okay, I presume you all know about atoms, right?" Most of the students nodded – I was one of them. Minazuki-sensei continued, "If so, can anybody state the number of the types of atoms present in the universe."

I was the first to raise my hand. Three students followed suit, but after them no more. As soon as Minazuki-sensei gestured at one of the other students, the boy answered loud and clear, "Approximately 100 types."

"Exactly, Takahashi-san – And thank you. Everybody heard her, right? And all of you should have known that an atom is made up of…" He paused for a while, and then pointed at Satsuki. "Shiwasu-san, complete my easy statement. And add some explanations, please."

Satsuki quickly replied, "Neutrons, protons and electrons. A neutron is filled with neutral particles and has two D quarks and one U quark, whereas a proton is filled with positive particles and has one D quark and two U quarks, while an electron is filled with negative particles."

"Correct." Minazuki-sensei remarked. A number of students applauded. Satsuki blushed and gave the teacher a soft, "Thank you." I looked at her with amusement. She's quite intelligent.

Minazuki-sensei knocked the table a few times and the applause stopped. He continued, "So now, we shall learn about nuclear fission. Does everyone know what atom fission is?" We all nodded, so no questions were thrown anymore. "Alright, so basically this is a type of atom fission that happens in nuclear reactors. So everyone understands, right?" We all nodded again.

"Sensei," A boy protested. "Please stop beating around the bush."

"I will start now, Toudaiji-san." The teacher cleared his throat and drew a diagram on the chalkboard. After he was done with the drawing, he began, "When an incident neutron was released from a nuclear atom, it bombards a fissionable nucleus. When the fissionable nucleus takes in the invading neutron, it became unstable and divides into two new nucleuses, called the fission products. Since the force that binds the nucleus together was strong, there was a large energy release when the fissionable nucleus splits, which sent more incident neutrons to more fissionable nuclei. This chain reaction causes more blasts of nuclear atoms."

As he explained every detail thoroughly, I thought to myself about what HQ told me and my brother before we were sent to Pekopon. They said that the Keroro Platoon was unreliable and had been delaying the invasion for such a long time. They even dared sending a hunk of lifeless rock to HQ as an invasion report. They sent the formidable Garuru Platoon to inspect them, and yet the 'unreliable' Keroro Platoon managed to outsmart them.

But if so, why did the invasion not proceed at all? This was what we were sent for: To inspect everything in Pekopon that went around the Keroro Platoon – The Hinata family members, the Nishizawa family and their butler, the much more solitary Saburo, the kunoichi Azumaya, and everything that was mentioned in the report handed by the Garuru Platoon.

Thinking about it made me want to question the whole Keroro Platoon directly. Were the delays caused by their friendship with the various Pekoponians? Was it because of their fear of having their friendship fade away? And… is friendship really that important?

"Tsukimachi-san…?"

The short call snapped me back into reality. Everyone was practically looking at me.

"Shoku-chan?" Natsumi asked. "What's wrong? You look dazed."

"Really?" I replied coldly while giving her another of my chilling smile. From what Koyuki told me, I had a reputation as the creepiest girl in school. Right then I decided to keep my title as the cold Ice Queen. My popularity might help when I want to investigate things around school.

The redhead shuddered a bit, but continued, "Really. You seem as if you were reminiscing something that happened eons ago. Anyway, Minazuki-sensei has a question for you."

I looked at the teacher calmly. "Yes, sensei, what's the question?"

Minazuki-sensei shivered at my tone, but he managed to ask, "What are the main properties of the nuclei produced by the splitting fissionable nucleus?"

"The nuclei produced by the splitting fissionable nucleus are radioactive."

"That's right. Thank you, Tsukimachi-san." He praised, then glanced at the clock. "I believe it's time for me to end this class. See you tomorrow, kids." Minazuki-sensei went out of the door.

I checked the schedule for the next lesson with a smile. "Pekopon is so interesting."

* * *

"Alright, kids! See you tomorrow, then!" Our homeroom teacher, Karin-sensei said happily as the school bell indicating the end of school. Everybody packed their things gladly and ran out of the door. I followed suit, only in a much calmer way.

Right when I set foot outside the classroom, Natsumi and Koyuki – who were waiting there – called me, "Shoku-chan! Let's walk home together!"

I asked, "Do you even know where I stay?"

Koyuki nodded cheerfully. "I know perfectly where since Dororo told me." On the contrary, Natsumi sweatdropped and asked back, "Aren't you staying at my house with the stupid frogs?"

I gave them more of my creepy expression. "No. I stay in a solitary cave."

"Okay…" Natsumi replied shakily. "Tsukiki, please stop being so creepy in front of me."

"I can't." I whispered. "This _is_ part of the real me. And nobody change easily."

"Hmm…? What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it." I said coldly.

_Don't worry? I have lots of things to worry about. Why am I lying to myself…?_

* * *

_One bird decided to go out,  
Ignoring his friends' shout.  
The moonlit shadows slowly dance,  
All but the one bird were trapped in a trance._

-- 963


	4. Four: Princess of The Winter Moon

The Moon and The Bird

Disclaimer: I don't own Keroro Gunso. It is Mine Yoshizaki's copyrighted property.

Author's Note: I'm very sorry for the annoyingly long wait for this chapter. In this chapter, I'll explain that there's no such thing as DoroxTsuki in this story. By the way, the festival thing is something I suddenly came up with, so I don't know if it really happens or not. Since this chapter is seen from Kururu's point of view, Shoku will be addressed as Tsukiki. And I might be a little too imaginative, so I'm sorry if there are parts of the story that you can't think out. Fun fact - Kururu's afro is purple. Some words come from an encyclopedia, so if you ever don't understand a word, go look up for them by yourself. From now on, I'll use proper Japanese honorifics. Enjoy and review.

* * *

Encounter IV: Princess of the Winter Moon  
- POV: Sergeant Major Kururu –

The 4th of December at Pekopon was fairly ordinary.

Whirring of engines, crackles of electricity, taps of keys and buttons… I'm used to all those. I'm used to the dark condition of my lab. I'm used to seeing one same screen for… possibly hours. I'm used to the occasional beeps from either the computer or some random machine in this place. I'm used to everything in this private underground space of mine.

Except for those steps.

I turned to see the newly accepted Sergeant Major Tsukiki approaching me. I scratched the back of my head and crossed my legs on top of my desk. "Well, I never really expect visitors in such early mornings… What do you want from me anyway?"

"I have a favor to ask from you."

I laughed. "A favor, huh? Interesting… What's this favor you want me to do?"

"There's this thing called the Snow White Festival held at school today… And Natsumi told me that every girl had to get a winter colored outfit to wear at school."

"And your point is…?"

"My point is I don't have one. I recalled that there's a panel in my Pekopon Suit that could alter my clothes and hairstyle, though I myself can't access it. But I believe you can."

"Yes, of course I can." I yawned. "That's an easy matter."

"Problem is, although I have that Pekopon Suit necklace you gave me, I can't change here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

She shrugged. "I go to school by jumping on tree branches. I can't possibly do that when I have a troublesome gown on. That is, unless you can figure out a better outfit."

I shrugged. "Yeah right, very troublesome… And so you're suggesting that I go to Kisho High School before the festival starts and do the altering?"

Tsukiki nodded quietly.

I turned my back to her and stared at my screen. "By the way, why do you care so much?"

The tadpole's widening eyes were reflected on the screen, but they soon reverted back into their usual calm state. "A chameleon must follow the colors of the terrain it is on."

"But you're no chameleon." I commented. "You're a tadpole."

"I'm an assassin. An assassin blends with their surroundings no matter where they are."

"Whatever." I said. "By the way, when exactly does the festival start?"

The violet tadpole turned around. "It starts at 12.30 p.m. I shall appreciate it if you come." And with that she vanished into the dark, leaving purple mist behind. The clock showed 6.15 a.m.

I smirked. Time to make another new invention.

* * *

I glanced at the big clock tower of the Kisho High School building from my hovercraft. The time showed 12 o'clock sharp. Students were seen rushing to the school's backyard, the females already in their winter outfits. I laughed when I saw a girl with pink oversized Hello Kitty glasses waddling like a penguin in her heavy Eskimo costume. That was stupid.

Then I noticed Shoku, or more correctly Tsukiki, leaning on one of the windows on the third floor. Silently, I controlled my hovercraft there. When I could reach the glass, I knocked it twice. The violet haired girl turned to see me, her face carrying a faint smile.

"So you came," She said coolly. "I thought you decided to make fun out of me."

"I came because I wanted to inspect the belt, and studying it as well."

Tsukiki smirked. "That sounded like a mere reason, no?"

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up and open the window. I can't go through walls; I'm not Omiyo."

"Omiyo… You mean that nice spirit girl in the Hinata residence? Yes, I sort of encountered her last night when I snuck into the building. She's not really a nuisance though, except that her presence kind of made the air around heavier…"

"Open the window."

"Alright, alright." She said while sliding the window to the side. "You're so impatient."

"Don't make me change my mind about altering the belt." I told her. My hovercraft floated onto a nearby table and landed there. I stepped off it and onto the table and beckoned her to come near me. Once she was in range, I turned my index finger in circles. "Back facing me, now."

She turned around calmly. I bent down and accessed a hidden panel on her belt. I connected my apparatus's cable to one of the removable drive ports and pressed several buttons. All Tsukiki did along the process was turn her head a few degrees to the back and observe how I did things.

After a few seconds, Tsukiki's school uniform transformed into a slim, pale green, sleeveless gown with low neckline that had thick, fluffy, fur lining, together with a pair of fingerless mitts that had the same color and with same fur lining, only much thinner. The gown had glittering curls of ice blue at the edges where her slender body curves were accented. A pair of translucent-blue glass slippers appeared on her feet. To complete her Ice Queen costume, a polished silver tiara studded with shining aquamarine gems was positioned nicely on top of her head.

I took a mirror out of nowhere and gave it to her. The girl looked at herself through the reflection, and then commented, "My hair doesn't seem to match the color code. Can you alter it?" I shrugged and pressed a few more buttons. Her long, silky, violet hair turned light ultramarine. Tsukiki looked into the mirror again, and then smiled. "That's much more appropriate. Thanks."

I smirked and sat on the edge of the table I was on. "If you think that's cool, then wait till you see this." I said as I pressed the symbol on my forehead. Soon, I was engulfed in a bright light. When the light died down, I had turned into a tall teenager with purple hair, amber eyes and small, round glasses in Kisho High School boy's uniform, only with a yellow blazer.

Tsukiki's mouth turned into an O shape. "Wow."

"Like it? It's a Pekopon Suit I invented this morning right after you came looking for me."

"Okay, I like it. But can we go to the backyard, like now? It's already 12.25."

"Who's the impatient one this time?"

"Alright, I'm an impatient hypocrite. But** can we go now..?**"

"Yes, we can! Just go, for goodness sake. By the way, I'm coming with you to the festival."

"You're coming with me? What should I tell people if they ask me about you?"

I sighed. "Look, it's not that hard. If they ask for my name, I'll just answer Kurai. If they ask who I am, I'll tell them that I'm Mutsumi Saburo's brother. It's that simple, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I got it. Now let's go to the backyard. My teacher will get mad if I'm late."

* * *

The wide backyard of Kisho High School was filled with students. I was glad that the school workers were so diligent in clearing up the snow. If they weren't, I wouldn't be able to walk on dirt right now. All the girls squealed with excitement, chattering on and on about the Snow White Festival. Then I saw Natsumi and Koyuki chatting with two other girls that I didn't know.

Tsukiki tilted her head to their direction and we walked there together. Along the way, I shoved a Chikururu Adams gum into my mouth. I needed to change my personality for a while. Soon, the bunch noticed Tsukiki and beckoned her to come over.

"Wow, Shoku-chan, I must admit that you look smashing! That's the Ice Queen costume, right?" Natsumi praised. She had a watermelon pink tutu with puffy sleeves, pale lemon stockings and a pair of light orange dancing slippers. She also had a strawberry red hair band on her head. _(__**A/N**__: Just in case you didn't notice, all the colors were described with the names of fruits ^_^)_

"Yeah, Shoku-chan, you're so cute and pretty! You even painted your hair blue!" Koyuki chimed in. The kunoichi was wearing the same outfit as the one Natsumi had. "And… Who's that guy next to you?" She said as she closed up to me. I could tell that she was trying to sniff me. I still couldn't get how these ninjas tell who is who by odors.

The other three girls stared at me. Tsukiki pointed at me, "Oh, him?" They nodded.

I bowed slightly and explained with a polite voice, "My name is Kurai, brother to Mutsumi Saburo. I would like to make acquaintances with you." Natsumi blushed slightly at the mention of Mutsumi. That girl really had some serious affection on my best buddy.

Tsukiki sweatdropped. "What happened to you?" She whispered.

"I have this gum that gives random effects. One changes personalities." I replied quickly.

Koyuki stared hard at me. She sniffed twice and frowned. I winked at her and positioned my index finger on my lips. She shook her head and sighed, but agreed nonetheless.

"Hey, he's pretty cute. Don't you think, Yayoi?" A brunette whispered to the girl beside her.

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Forget it, Satsuki-chan. You don't stand a chance."

Yeah right, keep on dreaming both of you. Though I must say, there were quite attractive… Oh great, my perverted side bumped in again. But it was true; They were attractive.

The brunette addressed as Satsuki was wearing an orange ball gown with a maroon shawl and a pair of long, vermillion evening gloves. The other one called Yayoi had a slim, pale blue gown with a quite low, V neckline, pagoda style long sleeves and a slit that showed her left leg. Her hair was braided into a long ponytail, flung over her shoulder.

…But I couldn't seem to understand why Satsuki-san wore a summer colored outfit…

Well, everyone had their own choices, so I ignored the color statement.

The principal was walking towards the stage in the middle of the yard. Once he was in front of the microphone, he tapped its head twice. Everybody looked to his direction. After a low cough, he started his speech.

"Good day, my students!" His voice boomed from the speakers. "As you all know, today is the Snow White Festival, the grand winter festival of Kisho High School! Now let me ask, who here does not like our winter festivals?" Nobody responded. The principal grinned. "As we can see, absolutely everyone likes the Snow White Festival! In that case, why don't we start now?"

The girls cheered. They chattered about the oncoming winter outfit contest. The guys also cheered. They talked about the oncoming cute outfits they were about to see on the girls' bodies.

The principal tapped the microphone again. The buzz died down. "Like in the past years, the Snow White Festival shall be started with performances from several 10th graders. Let us give the hardworking ones a great big applause!"

And with that, everyone applauded. Natsumi and Koyuki quickly said something to the other two girls – who seemed to have a sudden crush on my Pekopon Suit – and then ran to Tsukiki's side.

"Wish us luck on the dance, okay Shoku-chan?" Natsumi begged with puppy dog eyes. I was about to laugh out loud. That was so unlike the great Natsumi, substitute head of the Hinata family.

"Shoku-chan, cheer us along the dance, alright?" Koyuki asked cheerfully.

Tsukiki nodded. "Don't worry, I'll shout for you from down here. Now go up there and dance."

As the two gymnasts ran to the stage, I whispered in Tsukiki's ear. "They call you Shoku?"

"Shoku Tsukimachi, actually." She replied. "I introduced myself with that name."

I shrugged. "Okay. What are they dancing anyway? The song, I mean."

"Moon River. If you don't know how it goes, just watch."

"Alright…" I answered half-heartedly.

Then the music started and the girls on the stage started to dance in a perfectly coordinated pattern. Natsumi, Koyuki and the rest of the girls performed a dance that, I thought, was similar to what a classmate told me as the Swan Lake ballet back in Keron. Until now, I still couldn't get what's so good about these ballet shows. Nevertheless, I watched till the end.

* * *

"Well, what do you know?" I commented when the show was done. "Not so bad."

The ballet show was over, and the two of us – Shoku and I – were chatting about it.

"What I know is that they did a great job on placing those heaters around this yard. If they didn't, those dancers would've been frozen by now. And so would we." Tsukiki joked. "Hey, Kuru- I mean Kurai-kun, do you want to do something in particular?"

"Like…?"

"Like, going to one of the stalls around this yard? We don't have to stand here all day staring at those dancing princesses," She smirked. "Especially when you're a pervert."

"Get off my back." I said. "But you do have a point. I'm getting tired of just standing."

The ninja assassin smiled. "What are you waiting for? Come on, I'll be right next to you." She said as she grabbed my hand. Then we walked together to a random stall near us. And for some unknown reasons, I feel a bit… awkward. Was it because she rested her head on my shoulder…?

Wait a minute… **She was resting her head on my shoulder?!** I turned my head to see if it was true. And there the girl was, her head put so comfortably on me. And man, was it heavy!

"What the hell, I'm not a pillow! Quit it, Tsukiki-san; People stare. And your head is heavy!" I protested, and only got ignored. "Oh come on, do you not understand Japanese?!"

"I do," She said. "But I'm starting to get cold… On the contrary, you're so warm. So you'll be my temporary heater. It's fine, right? Ne, Kuru-_chan_…?" She continued in the cutest possible tone.

"STOP JOKING!!" I yelled. "Man, I think I like your other side better…"

Then I regretted saying that. The data that I hacked from the Keron Army stated that her cruel side won't hesitate to kill anything or anyone, and she could annihilate two people per minute… without assassin magic and ninjutsu. The rate would surely change if she used any of her weird, inhuman techniques. They even stated that she's vengeful.

The dossier I printed also said that she was too terrifying to be fully described. That was why I haven't told anybody about this. If Keroro got stupid enough and asked HQ to pull her back to Keron, she might get mad and suspicious at us. Worst case, she might plan a revenge on my platoon, possibly with the people around us. And a dead Mutsumi is the last thing I want, aside from my life.

"Tsukiki-san," I said in the most careful way possible. "Head off my shoulder, _**please**_…"

And whether you care or not, this villainous Kururu actually said please. Then again, that would be one of the effects of my personality changing Chikururu Adams gum.

"A little joke couldn't do any harm, you know." Tsukiki said with a hurt look on her face, her head no longer positioned on my tired shoulder. "If you don't want me to do something, just say it. I know people are staring, and I'm sure they know that this is just a joke…"

"It could harm my- _our_ reputation though." I mumbled sarcastically. Then I decided to soften a little on her. "Alright, go on. Put your head anywhere you want to. Just act normal, okay?" I must admit, I didn't sound like me. But that was to prevent her from being angry.

The girl seemed to brighten up. "Thanks, but I had enough joking. I want some dango."

"There's the dango stall." I pointed, and then read the sign out loud. "DANGO: 300 YEN. My money is more than enough for that. What about you?" I continued as I reached for my wallet.

Tsukiki frowned as she counted the money in her coin pouch. "I have three thousand yen. I wanted to buy Natsumi-chan and Koyuki-chan a portion each too. And I think I'll buy you one as well. That means I'll have to waste one thousand and two hundred yen for four portions of dango."

"Then what's the problem?" I asked. "You don't have to treat me, and you still have a lot."

"HQ only provided nine thousand yen when we were sent here to Pekopon since we're not exactly an invasion platoon." She started. "I've started working part time in an electronics store since I got here, and they only pay me one and a half thousand yen per day. I need to save money to rent a room in an apartment because the cave is starting to get buried in snow, but the cheapest room I could find is twenty thousand yen. The total of what I currently have is six thousand yen, and I only brought half of it. I mustn't finish it if I'm going to get the room I want."

I thought for a while, and then offered. "I'll treat you, then." She stared at me with wide eyes. I added, "What I mean is, I'll treat you in Azumaya-san's share. You pay for Hinata-san's."

"Why do you use their family name to describe them? You're not talking to a stranger."

"People look at us." I said with a tinge of annoyance. "They've been staring since you put your head on my shoulder, and now they think we're going out together. I bet they're listening too."

The light ultramarine haired girl nodded her head in understanding, and then we marched to the dango stall. By the way, if you don't know what dango is, it's a ball made from pounded rice on a stick with thick, sweet paste applied on top of it. It goes very well with red bean soup.

As soon as we reached the dango stall, I shoved six hundred yen to the vendor while Tsukiki handed him another six hundred yen. The middle aged man gave us four paper plates; each with three balls on a stick. The smell of the hot paste made me want to eat it even more. We thanked the man and walked back to where Satsuki and Yayoi were standing.

When we finally got to where the two girls were, they looked at us. Or more precisely, our dango; And with longing eyes too. I thought that they also wanted a few of these.

"Where did you get those dango?" Yayoi inquired.

"At the corner under a sakura tree next to the frangipani flower pots." Tsukiki described.

"Thanks." The dark haired girl replied as she dragged the other girl off to the direction of the dango stall. A few minutes later, Natsumi and Koyuki came, their eyes also fixed on the dango.

"Where did you get those dango?" Natsumi asked with dreamy eyes.

Tsukiki smiled. "Don't bother. These are for you." She said as she gave one to each of them.

The redhead and the kunoichi received the snack happily. But right when Natsumi was about to dig in, Koyuki blurted, "Aren't we supposed to change out of our performance clothes?"

Natsumi and Koyuki exchanged glances, then handed the dango back to us. "Sorry, we need to go. We'll come back as soon as possible!" And with that, they ran into the school. Tsukiki and I looked at each other, then laughed. Satsuki and Yayoi came back and stared at us, confused.

"What's so funny…?" Satsuki asked.

I shrugged and answered calmly, "Nothing in particular." Tsukiki nodded in agreement.

* * *

When Natsumi and Koyuki said 'as soon as possible', they meant as soon as possible. The duo gymnasts appeared from the horizon and ran to where we were, already in different clothes. And believe it or not, they only took two minutes!

Natsumi had an old but modest 14th-century gown called a cotehardie. It was peach and it fitted her curves with a low neckline and floating sleeves that reached her ankles. She also had a translucent, pink shawl wrapped around her. A carmine, heart shaped tiara with fake garnets rested on top of her head. I couldn't tell how her shoes were because her gown was so long.

Koyuki had a cute outfit. It consisted of a white tutu with short, puffy sleeves and white tights. She wore a pair of silver ballet slippers decorated with feathers. Transparent wings with silver glitters here and there together with a snowflake shaped wand perfected her costume. A sterling grey, semi-transparent ribbon with tiny crystal beads tied her hair into a sleek ponytail.

"Gee, you guys look cute and pretty." Tsukiki complimented. "Koyuki-chan, you're posing as a snow fairy, right? As for Natsumi-chan… I couldn't really tell. You had a summer colored outfit on."

Natsumi shrugged. "Winter goes with my brother, not me. By the way, I can see that you've gotten hold of your other personality. You know… the cold, terrifying one?"

_Natsumi you idiot, don't poke her other side. You wouldn't like it when it's awake._ I thought. I looked at Tsukiki's face. She was always as calm as the breeze, I couldn't tell if she was angry, sad, happy, or whatever she was feeling.

"Other personality? Terrifying?" Yayoi repeated. "Natsumi-chan, what were you saying?"

_Ugh… Can't anyone see that I'm trying to prevent this girl next to me from exploding and killing everybody in range…?_ I complained in my mind, stressed. Although from what I saw, Tsukiki was so still, so cool, so calm like the light sea wind.

So… different. Different from anyone I've known before. The only Pekoponian I know with a personality as breezy and cool as this was my best friend, Mutsumi Saburo. Even Dororo wasn't like this. Tsukiki and Mutsumi had no mood swings (read: trauma switches).

The last time I was angry, I quickly forgot about it. I put up a poker face with my typical grin on it. I laugh at whatever was happening. I act evil, uncaring, and disappear from everyone's sight with my floor elevators.

But Tsukiki didn't laugh. She didn't act uncaring. She went on with the flow like salt that dissolves in water. Nothing seemed to bug her. She seemed to be immune to everything. This Tsukiki… Was it the same cold girl I saw when she first came into the base?

It confused me, especially her two different personalities. Her little brother, Toriri, said that her dark side developed more than her good side, but what I experienced said that her good side ruled more than her dark side.

Imagine yourself with someone who acts cold to everyone but you. Unimaginably creepy.

"Saburo-san, Shoku-chan!" Yayoi suddenly shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts. "We're about to start the fashion contest! Oh right, Shoku-chan," She paused for a while to take something out of her pocket. It was a piece of folded paper. She gave it to Tsukiki and continued, "Make sure you read this, and then go to the back of the stage. Bye!" And with that, she went away.

For a short moment, the two of us looked at Satsuki, slowly disappearing in horizon, and then looked at each other, trying to read each other's eyes. The silence was broke off with laughter from both of us. Tsukiki laughed so naturally that I forgot that she was an originally cold assassin.

I nudged Tsukiki's elbow playfully. "You didn't tell me anything about this fashion contest."

"I didn't know either. They told me nothing about this." She answered, equally surprised.

"Shoku-chan…!" Koyuki called excitedly. "Have you read the paper I asked Yayoi to deliver to you? It's important, you know. You're supposed to read it to find out how the fashion contest goes! I mean, you're contestant #24. You'd better not make a fool out of yourself!"

Tsukiki looked a little shocked. The ultramarine haired girl quickly unfolded the paper and read it. I peeked and saw that it was her catwalk route.

She shook her head and sighed. "Do I have to do this, Koyuki-chan? It's… embarrassing."

"Sorry, Shoku-chan… But everybody's doing it, whether they wanted it or not. It wouldn't be fair for them if they found out that you didn't join the fashion contest, would it?" Koyuki said.

Tsukiki gulped silently. "Alright. I'll do it." She said coolly, then turned to me. "Kurai-san, I had to go. You may visit the other stalls as much as you want. Take care not to get into trouble."

"You don't have to pretend in front of Koyuki." I laughed. "She knew who I am."

Koyuki gave her typical feline smile. Tsukiki laughed too. Then they walked away together.

I reconsidered Tsukiki's words. Visit the stalls, she said. Which stall? I scanned the whole backyard. There were more than a dozen of them. I decided to start with the takoyaki stand. And by the way, takoyaki is Japanese for octopus balls. It tastes great when you eat it with katsuobushi sprinkled on top. By the way, katsuobushi is thin, little pieces of dried fish.

"TAKOYAKI: 500 YEN." I read out loud. "Man, that's almost twice the price of the dango. Oh, well. Octopus does taste better than pounded rice." I rummaged through my wallet and counted. "11,000 yen should be more than enough for… let me see… Me, Tsukiki… And maybe I'll also buy Mutsumi one. That equals 1500 yen. My, my, I'm such a spender, ku ku ku…"

I walked to a purple stand and purchased 3 portions of takoyaki. The freshly made octopus balls sat nicely on the plate, waiting to be eaten by someone. I looked around and coincidentally spotted Mutsumi hanging around behind a cherry blossom tree.

"Saburo!" I called and went to his side. He turned around and smiled. I didn't know how he did it, but he actually recognized me in my new Pekopon Suit. Was it my voice?

"Yo, Kururu! What's up?" He greeted. "You don't usually come to festivals."

I shrugged. "I'm just accompanying Tsukiki-san. Or more like she wanted me to."

Mutsumi's eyes showed that he was trying to recall something. "Tsukiki… You mean that new member you told me about a few days ago? She's a student here? I didn't notice."

I rolled my eyes and gave him a plate of takoyaki. "Whatever. By the way, this is for you."

"Weird, you're being generous." He commented, but accepted the food anyway. "Aren't you going to watch the fashion contest? It's from Natsumi-san and Koyuki-san's class."

"I know, and Tsukiki-san is also in their class."

"What? Seriously?" He inquired. I confirmed with a simple nod. The silver haired boy smiled. "Well, that's surprising news. Did you make her any Pekopon Suits?"

"Not really." I started to explain. "She had this belt that can alter her appearance, like her hairstyle, clothes, accessories and stuff. All I did was change the setting a bit and voila, she's in a gorgeous winter outfit – The Ice Queen costume, to be precise."

Mutsumi laughed. "Hail the almighty genius, then. Although I'm supposed to be smarter."

"Ku ku, yeah right." I said uncaringly. "But I'm really smarter than you."

"Aren't you going to watch the fashion contest?"

"I'll go if you're going as well."

"I _am_ going."

"Then I'll go with you."

* * *

"And now, contestant #18: Satsuki Shiwasu!" The MC shouted as Satsuki walked out to the crowd from behind a large, milk white curtain on the stage. The brunette strutted in average speed until she reached the end of the runway, then walked back behind the curtain.

Mutsumi and I were watching from a high place – one of the school balconies, to be precise – with the help of binoculars, which I coincidentally brought along with me.

"My, my, the girls sure look pretty in those clothes." The silver haired boy grinned.

I laughed. "You little pervert. Anyway, Natsumi's already out."

"Huh? Where, where?" He asked as he hastily grabbed my binocular and looked through it. "Hey, you're right. Man, she looks cute, considering that she's also the terrifying Devil Summer."

"Ku ku ku… She's a devil only in front of taichou's eyes." I remarked, then took my binocular back from his hands. I looked through it and saw Natsumi going in and Koyuki out. "Oh, wow. Koyuki's such a cutie in her snow fairy outfit, ku ku ku!"

"You're also a pervert, you hypocrite." Mutsumi smirked.

"Whatever, Saburo." I shooed him off while still keeping my eyes fixed on the stage. Then I noticed that a special someone's turn was already on. "Hey, why don't you check this girl out?"

"That depends. Is she cute?"

"Sort of, I guess. Here, take a glance."

"Alright, if you say so…" The teenager smiled and took my binocular to view the current girl on stage. Suddenly, a blush crept onto his face. "In the name of Akihabara, what do you mean 'sort of'? This girl's hot! Man, her neckline is so low – too low, even. And what slender curves, such a slim body – Such a beautiful design! Kururu, do you know who that is? I don't think I've seen her before."

I shrugged. "Actually… That's Tsukiki-san, or – as how she's called by the clueless students – Shoku Tsukimachi. Not to boast, but yes, I did a pretty good job on the outfit, didn't I?"

"What do you mean 'pretty good'? She looks perfectly sweet!" Mutsumi giggled.

I sweatdropped. "Okay, you're creeping me out. I know I'm also a pervert, but can you please stop being an intolerable perverted idiot? You giggle at almost every girl you see!"

"Only the cute ones." He winked, then continued his observation on the fashion contest.

I sighed. The day always felt long for me when Mutsumi is around.

* * *

"So you won the contest?"

"Uh-huh. I don't really know why so many people vote for me."

"That's because you look cute."

"Shut up, you pervert."

Tsukiki and I were walking back to the Hinata household while having a cold conversation. And the way Tsukiki was back in her old, cold self was nice. I don't like being near unreasonably happy and gleeful people, somehow.

But talk about a sudden mood swing! Just this day I thought she didn't show her split personalities when near me, then she just did. Half the day she was nice to me, then in the other half – like, now – she was acting like I'm a stranger.

"Alright, here we are." I declared. We've finally arrived in front of the Hinata residence. I pressed the doorbell repeatedly until Natsumi came out with an angry face.

"Hey! Just ring it once!" She yelled, then noticed me and Tsukiki – still in our Pekopon Suits – and added in a friendly tone, "Ah, sorry Saburo-san and Tsuki- I mean Shoku-chan. I thought-"

"Don't mind me; I'm just walking Kururu-san home." Tsukiki said calmly.

Natsumi looked shocked. "Kururu… You mean," She pointed at me, "HIM?!"

"Well, duh." I answered and deactivated my Pekopon Suit. "See? It's just me." Meanwhile, Tsukiki followed suit and deactivated her Pekopon Suit as well. "Now, can I go in?"

The redhead sighed. "Fine, fine, get in and disappear to your underground lab. And don't cause any noise or havoc or ruckus or whatever that annoys me because I'll be listening to 623's radio show in a few minutes, okay?"

"Whatever." I replied coolly, ignoring the possibilities of Natsumi beating me up and turned to speak to Tsukiki. "So, Tsukiki-san, you're going home yourself?"

"Why, of course." The violet tadpole snapped. "I don't need you to walk me home." And with that, she did a double backward flip and landed on a rooftop, then leaped onto more, slowly disappearing into the horizon.

I raised an eyebrow. "Man, what a weird girl."

"She sure is," Natsumi chimed in. "But you're much weirder."

"Whatever, Devil Summer."

"Shut up, Yellow Devil." Natsumi retorted, then walked into the house.

I looked at the dark, cloudless sky. The winter moon was shining brightly. Nothing seemed to be going wrong. I exhaled with my mouth, producing a cloud of mist in front of my face and quietly went inside the house as the moonlight shone upon Inner Tokyo.

_I'll have to research more about Tsukiki-sochou – This might turn interesting._

* * *

_Those from the side of the Earth,  
Hail the powers in the red blood sword.  
Hidden secrets of a special someone's birth,  
All mark the terror of the moon's word._

-- 963


	5. Five: The Tale of Two Keronians

The Moon and The Bird

Disclaimer: I don't own Keroro Gunso. It is Mine Yoshizaki's copyrighted property.

Author's Note: Sorry for the exceptionally long wait, again… Anyways, this chapter is especially made to describe the assassin siblings' life, interaction, etc., so be patient with the flashbacks that will occasionally appear. From this chapter on, Toriri shall call Tsukiki like how Fuyuki calls Natsumi: Neechan. Plus, there will be much more humor in this chapter! But if you don't have a very good sense of humor, you won't notice it at all. Fun fact: Hane means feather. And just so you remember, the poem at the end resembles what I want to say to you with this chapter. I'm sad that Aztek didn't review most of my last chapters, but don't worry because I'm not one to request review for story continuation. Thanks for constantly reviewing, .Trench.x. Enjoy and review the story!

* * *

Encounter V: The Tale of Two Keronians  
- POV: Second Corporal Toriri –

"Are you sure, neechan?" I asked. The wall of the cave was dark and cold, and it was the 5th of December in the winter. I stood behind my adoptive sister, Tsukiki, who was in her usual Kisho schoolgirl Pekopon Suit. Her long, silky, violet hair fluttered in the cold wind. She turned to look at me with her cold, red eyes that scared even a really brave soldier like my legendary classmate.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked coldly. "Of course I am sure. Activate that thing right now and come with me to Kisho Gakuen. Kururu-san and I have arranged everything for you. We should be there to investigate the life of Pekopon youngsters."

I sighed. Once neechan made up her mind, there was nothing in this world that could make her reconsider whatever she decided on. In times like that, it would be best to obey her. "Alright."

"Don't just say 'alright', **activate that thing already!**" She bellowed.

"S-Sir yes sir!" I saluted her. Geez, though she's my sister, she insisted on me to act as if we were just soldiers who were _strangers_ to each other and were on a mission together. I sighed, again, and pressed the insignia on my forehead. I was engulfed in a serene, grey light.

When it died down, I had transformed into a young Pekoponian boy with shaggy, silver hair and bright blue eyes with a white medical mask covering my face. I also wore ultramarine trousers and a sterling grey T-shirt with black sneakers, plus a white acrylic belt.

And a kind-of-unfitting wing pack on my back.

My sister walked around me while I stood up straight and tall. Finally, she commented, "We have to get rid of that wing pack of yours. Regular Pekoponians have never seen it before, and we do not want to cause any unnecessary commotion." Then she pressed a button that I didn't know.

"What was that?" I asked.

"It's an invisibility toggle button." She explained. "It makes the wing pack transparent. Now remember, Toriri: Do not use it in front of the public. The Hinatas, Nishizawa-san and Azumaya-san might know about this, but other than them nobody realizes. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." My sister said solemnly, then grabbed my arm and pulled me away. Then we were off in the direction of Inner Tokyo, where the building of Kisho Gakuen was waiting.

* * *

I waited outside a classroom door. My heart was beating quite quickly. I was so nervous. My sister told me not to worry about anything. I kept on telling myself that this is a mission. But my self-comforting did no effect to my nervousness.

"Mametori-san, you may come in!"

My heart almost stopped when the voice called me. I was completely startled. But I calmed myself down. There was nothing to worry about – or at least that's what my sister told me. I slid the door to the left and walked into the class.

In front of me, an adult Pekoponian man was smiling. "Welcome." He said.

I smiled back and went up to him. I stood next to the man as he started, "Class, his name is Hane Mametori, our new student. From this day on, he shall study together with you in this class. Mametori-san, please sit next to Nishizawa-san – on her left, that is."

I nodded and did what he said obediently. Everything in this new class (other than Fuyuki Hinata and Momoka Nishizawa whom I already knew) made me nervous, a lot. I didn't like being near new stuff – people, things, events and so on.

Fuyuki peered at me with suspicion, as if he knew who I am. I avoided his gaze and hurried to Momoka's side. The split-personality girl greeted me with a warm-hearted smile, but I could feel her other side emitting uncomfortable aura.

The teacher – they said that his name was Yashiro-san – begin the lesson as he taught us about geography. Personally, my opinion of the lesson was that it's too easy. All we learned about is the properties of Pekopon's minerals. Iolite, alexandrite, beryl, serpentine… Yeah, right, like my sister and I didn't know that already!

It was so boring, so all I did as the class continues was look out the window at the clouds.

My sister was right. Pekopon's clouds are different than Keron's – Way different. So are the birds, and dragonflies, and so much more differences. For example, the mushrooms on Pekopon don't chase people around like they did back in my planet. And the dragonflies here only had two pairs of wings instead of four.

So many things to discover… Yet so little time. I wasn't sent here for simple vacation, and neither was my sister. We had an important mission, which was kind of a secret, so I couldn't tell you – At least not now. And when they chose us to bear the mission, it wasn't out of simple choice. HQ had their own reasons to particularly choose my sister for this.

This was why I didn't like the idea of the mission in the first time.

My sister wasn't any ordinary Keronian. Those around her may have guessed that from her bipolar – or more correctly multipolar – personality. And if they have seen her perform one of those brutal ninjutsu she has, they'll take her for an even worse person.

But I know a lot more. The fact that Tsukiki and I had the same shade of sterling grey wasn't mere coincidence. And there were a lot more similarities that we also share.

A little flashback should do some explanation. You don't mind, right?

* * *

"_Toriri, my dear son! Come here to your mother's side!"_

"_Toriri-niichan! I'm so glad you're back here with us – We were so worried!"_

"_I guess Headquarters didn't lie when they say that the operation won't disappoint anyone. In any case, congratulations Toriri – You have been renewed."_

_The day I got back from the hospital after an operation which purpose I had no idea about, my family was waiting for me anxiously in front of the house. My mom, my little brother, my dad… But why was there a stranger?_

_She was standing still next to Taroro-kun like a frozen statue. She had hypnotic amber eyes and a violet veil. Her gaze was as cold as ice, and she was as expressionless as a zombie. But why does she have the same body color that I have?_

"_Taroro-kun," I asked. "Do you know that girl next to you?"_

_My little brother turned to see her. His eyes widened, then he ran to my mom's side, asking with trembling voice, "Mama, who is this stranger…?"_

_My dad was first to respond. He smiled. "Ah, Tsukiki-san. I see that you came here unnoticed – again. Truly is what expected from the wonderful, awe-inspiring, experiment: Perfected Project no. 409. Don't you think so for yourself?"_

_The girl addressed as Tsukiki – or Project no. 409 – nodded coldly. She turned to me and said something in ancient Keron language that my dad told me about. I didn't remember what my dad taught me quite well, so I wasn't able to decipher what she was saying._

_My mom volunteered to explain. "She only wanted to say hello to you. She is glad that she could help you by donating some of her DNA for you."_

_I felt as if I was struck by a lightning. I got DNA donation from an experiment Keronian? I felt sick, considering that I just got a half-natural-half-synthetic creature's DNA. Wouldn't that make me half-natural-half-synthetic as well? And yet my parents reacted quite calmly to this, so I guessed that it was for my own good anyway._

_Then I noticed that Taroro had been staring at me in quite a strange manner._

_I scoffed. "Taroro-kun, I don't like being stared at like that, so please stop it."_

_He gulped, then replied, "Sorry, it's just weird seeing you grey instead of brown."_

_I felt as if I was struck by a second lightning. I looked down at myself. My body no longer had the shade of hazel like before. Instead, I was sterling grey – Just like the Tsukiki girl._

"_W-What happened to me?!" I shouted in confusion._

_My dad calmed me down and answered, "Since you got DNA donation from Tsukiki-san, you also got the same body color she has. Good thing is, now the both of you share similar physical attributes. You feel much stronger now, don't you?"_

_Well, yes. I could feel the difference. It was near the end of the autumn, and the wind was pretty cold. Normally, I would shiver when in contact with cold wind. But this time, I didn't._

"_That's true," I commented while pointing to the symbol on my belly. "But sterling grey don't really match with brown almond, you think?"_

_My family laughed. So they thought it was a joke, huh? They had no idea that I had no intentions of joking – especially not after an operation. Nevertheless, I laughed with them. Family had to stick together, no?_

_My dad stopped laughing for a while. He turned to me and said in a serious tone, "Oh, by the way, we adopted Tsukiki-chan as your sister. So from this day on, she's staying here. And if you don't mind, call her 'neechan'."_

_A third lightning struck me. The half-natural-half-synthetic experimental girl was adopted by my family? I wanted to faint and escape reality. But my dad said she's staying, and that's that._

_From that day on, Perfected Project no. 409 – or Tsukiki – is a part of my family._

* * *

"Mametori-san? Mametori-san!"

I snapped out of my reminiscing. Everyone was practically looking at me. _(__**A/N**__: When you read this, think of what happened to Tsukiki in the third encounter)_

"What's the matter, Mametori-san?" Yashiro-sensei asked. "Are you sick?"

I acted calmly and answered, "Don't worry, I'm alright." _Yup, alright, as in not right at all_.

"What was that?"

"Um, uh… Nevermind." I replied nervously while eyeing Fuyuki. The way he also eyed me – though our eyes didn't meet – made me feel uncomfortable. I could tell that those big blue eyes were trying to figure out who I am.

I avoided eye contact with the Hinata son and tried to pay attention to geography lesson. After what seemed like ages, the study ended and Yashiro-sensei was replaced by another teacher. But for some reasons, this teacher is kind of familiar…

"Hi, kids! Remember me?" He asked cheerfully, his green head tilted sideways.

"Gunso-san…?" Fuyuki said in a loud whisper. "Oh no, not again…"

"If Keroro-san is here," Momoka added, "That means Giroro-san and Tama-chan is here too." And with that she pointed at a certain two seats on the back row. I looked at where she was pointing and saw two Pekoponian students with Keronian heads, which applied on the teacher too.

I sweatdropped. It wasn't really a surprise that Rank-F platoons got obvious Pekopon Suits.

One male student gasped. "It's Kerono Keropachi-sensei!" He stated happily.

* * *

"As usual, we'll be learning about aliens, UFOs and such supernatural things."

"Alright!" The whole class cheered – Except for me, Fuyuki, Momoka and Giroro-san in the Pekopon Suit. I had no idea why Tamama-kun cheered as well. _Keroro-san disguised as a Pekoponian occult teacher? That'll be an interesting topic to report to HQ_, I thought to myself.

"Today, we will be reviewing the Tunguska Event. Does anybody know about it?" Keroro-san asked in an excited tone. He then pointed at Fuyuki in an exaggerated movement. "Fuyuki Hinata, my dear occult fan student! I'm pretty much sure you know, don't you?"

Fuyuki jumped in surprise, but nevertheless answered clearly, "The Tunguska Event, or Tunguska explosion, was a powerful explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya or Lower Stony Tunguska River, now called Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia at 0 hours 13 minutes 35 seconds Greenwich Mean Time - around 7:14 a.m – local time on June 30, 1908, or June 17 in the Julian calendar, in use locally at the time."

"That's correct!" Keroro-san praised in another exaggerated movement. I started to wonder why he had to exaggerate all his movements. He continued, "Now, can you explain why the explosion happened? You do know about the theories, right?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Fuyuki declared in a confident tone. "It is commonly believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment at an altitude of five to ten kilometres or 3.1-6.2 miles above the Earth's surface. Different studies have yielded varying estimates of the object's size, with general agreement that it was a few tens of metres across."

The whole class applauded for the occult genius. Momoka clapped the loudest. Either that or it was just the effect of sitting next to the blue haired girl. Keroro-san nodded in satisfaction, and then questioned the boy even further, "And what damage is caused by this explosion?"

"Although the meteor or comet burst in the air rather than directly hitting the surface, this event is still referred to as an impact. Estimates of the energy of the blast range from 5 megatons of TNT 21 PJ to as high as 30 megatons of TNT 130 PJ, with 10 to 15 megatons of TNT 42 to 63 PJ the most likely — roughly equal to the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear bomb tested on March 1 1954, about 1000 times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan and about one-third the power of the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated. The explosion knocked over an estimated 80 million trees over 2150 square kilometres or 830 square miles. It's estimated that the shockwave from the blast would have measured 5 on the Richter scale. An explosion of this magnitude is able to destroy a large metropolitan area."

_(__**A/N**__: If you don't understand those things above, I suggest you study physics.)_

"Yes, that is all true!" Keroro-san exclaimed gleefully. "From this day on, we shall all address you as Occult King Fuyuki! Everybody now, on the count of three! One, two…"

"ALL HAIL OCCULT KING FUYUKI! HAIL OCCULT KING FUYUKI!!!" The whole class (other than Giroro-gochou, Tamama-nitouhei and me) bowed voluntarily at Fuyuki. Wait, was that one girl not bowing to Fuyuki…?

"Keropachi-sensei!" She said as she raised her hand up.

Keroro-san turned to the girl and grinned. "Well, if it isn't Chiruyo Tsukigami. How are you?"

"I'm fine, sensei, thank you." She smiled, then returned to the serious expression before. "I have a question to ask you: Why should we call Fuyuki a king? He is clearly not the king of anyone."

Keroro-san shook his head and replied in a parental tone, "My child, are you jealous of him? You should note that jealousy can be very dangerous. In some cases, it could bloat you up."

Chiruyo scoffed. "I'm not jealous, sensei. I was just asking. Calling him a king would mean that we accept him as our ruler. But Hinata-san had no right whatsoever to rule over us. Giving somebody the title of a king will also mean giving them absolute power. You should really consider the risks of gifting someone with a certain title, Keropachi-sensei."

I blinked. This Pekoponian girl was so logical. I was guessing that she depends on her logic and intelligence in every situation possible. But considering what she just said, it was true. Giving someone a title would mean giving the person all the power that comes with the title. This law applies in the military too, you know.

Keroro-san silently gulped, but still answered Chiruyo in a calm manner. "I see, Tsukigami-san. Well then, I'm pretty much sure that you noticed: I said king of _occult_ instead king of _us_. I never gave Fuyuki-san the permission to rule over us; I gave him the permission to rule over the occult world as the boy with an extraordinarily vast knowledge of the occult."

Chiruyo swiftly jotted down some notes on her little book, then asked again, "Have you ever confirmed that he truly is the most genius boy in the occult subject?"

Keroro-san laughed uneasily. "At least he is, in Inner Tokyo."

"Have you made sure?"

"I'm pretty much sure. For instance, nobody knew about the Tunguska event other than him."

I drew a faint smile, then raised my hand and waited until Keroro-san called me. Just as I expected, he looked at me and said, "Yes, uh… Wait, who are you again…" He mumbled while scanning the student list. "Hane Mametori. Alright, if you have a question please say it quickly."

"I know what the Tunguska Event is."

Everybody turned to look at me with a surprised expression on their faces. What? Didn't expect the ace student in Pekoponian history class to know about that explosion? Every educated Keronian who excel in that lesson would've known that it was caused by Clarioteians.

"Oh, really…?" Keroro-san stared at me questioningly. "Then repeat what Fuyuki-san said."

I cleared my throat and started to repeat what the dark haired boy explained, exactly like how Keroro-san wanted me to. "The Tunguska Event or Explosion, was a powerful explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya or Lower Stony Tunguska River, now called Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia at 0 hours 13 minutes 35 seconds Greenwich Mean Time, or around 7:14 a.m local time on June 30, 1908, or June 17 in the Julian calendar, locally in use at that time. It is commonly believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment at an altitude of five to ten kilometres or 3.1-6.2 miles above the Earth's surface. Different studies have suggested varying estimates of the object's size, with a general agreement that it was a few tens of metres across. Although the meteor or comet burst in the air rather than directly hitting the surface, this event is still referred to as an impact. Estimates of the energy of the blast range from 5 megatons of TNT 21 PJ to as high as 30 megatons of TNT 130 PJ, with 10 to 15 megatons of TNT 42 to 63 PJ the most likely — roughly the same to the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear bomb tested on March 1 1954, about 1000 times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima at Japan, and about one-third the power of the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever exploded. The explosion knocked over an estimated amount of 80 million trees over 2150 square kilometres or approximately 830 square miles. It's estimated that the shockwave from the blast would've measured 5 on the Richter scale. An explosion of this magnitude is capable of destroying a large metropolitan area."

By the time I finished repeating, I was nearly breathless. Everyone stared at me with awe, even Keroro-san, Fuyuki, Giroro-san, Tamama-kun and Chiruyo. Meanwhile, Momoka was gritting her teeth in held-back anger. I wonder why…

"Th-That was too cool…" Keroro-san muttered.

"A-Amazing…" Tamama-kun mumbled. The other students followed suit, each chatting about how cool I was to be able to repeat exactly what Fuyuki said – Until Chiruyo raised her hand for the second time in the lesson.

"Yes, Tsukigami-san, what is it this time?" Keroro-san inquired, a little annoyed.

"I'm sorry, but Mametori-san didn't repeat what Hinata-san said _perfectly_." She pointed out. "When Hinata-san said 'Tunguska Event, or Tunguska explosion', Mametori-san said 'Tunguska Event or Explosion'. When Hinata-san said 'June 17 in the Julian calendar, in use locally at that time', Mametori-san said 'June 17 in the Julian calendar, locally in use at that time', and there's much more difference in their speech." And with that she finished her analysis. _(__**A/N**__: Does any of the readers want to try and look for it? Come on now; try to beat Chiruyo's awareness.)_

Everyone sweatdropped. "Is it really necessary to point out such little details…?" Keroro-san complained. Chiruyo pushed her glasses up a bit, then added, "When you are checking your student's exam papers, missing a small detail in their answers may change the score. Like what the old philosophy said: One grain of rice can tip the balance. Isn't that right, sensei?"

Keroro-san sighed. "Yes, yes, whatever you say, Tsukigami-san. Can we go back to the lesson now…?" Chiruyo shrugged and stayed quiet. Keroro-san coughed, then started, "Like what Fuyuki-san and Mametori-san explained to us, the Peko- I mean Earth scientists thought it was caused by a comet or meteorite. But there is one other explanation that only a few races know."

Everybody started to talk in silent whispers. Keroro-san quieted them down and said, "This explosion is caused by an alien race called the Clarioteians. From a long time ago, they have been battling with Peko- Earthlings for the reign over this planet. One of the evidences of this theory is that the expeditions sent to the area in the 1950s and 1960s found microscopic silicate and magnetite spheres in siftings of the soil. Similar spheres were predicted to exist in the fallen trees, although they could not be detected by contemporary means. Later expeditions did identify such spheres in the resin of the trees. Chemical analysis showed that the spheres contained high proportions of nickel relative to iron, which is also found in meteorites, leading to the conclusion they were of extraterrestrial origin. The concentration of the spheres in different regions of the soil was also found to be consistent with the expected distribution of debris from a meteorite airburst. Later studies of the spheres found unusual ratios of numerous other metals relative to the surrounding environment, which was taken as further evidence of their extraterrestrial origin."

Everybody started to talk in silent whispers again. Chiruyo quickly jotted down some notes in her little notebook. I thought, _Keroro-san is careless, telling such knowledge to clueless Pekoponian kids. Then again, that could be necessary to provide them with early reactions to what will happen in the future, just in case those Clarioteians wanted a rematch._

I noticed Giroro-san walking angrily towards Keroro-san and grabbed his collar, muttering, "You moron! Did you realize that you're teaching them intergalactic subjects?!"

"Hey, it's not like Pekopon isn't a member of the universe." Keroro-san replied nervously. He looked at Giroro perplexedly, then added in a louder voice, "My, my, Giro-kun, you're so fired-up this morning. Why don't you cool down a little? Now let's see…"

He turned around to face the chalkboard and swiftly wrote things that I couldn't see (Since he was covering it with his body). When he was done, he faced Giroro-san and said with a smile, "Now, since you're so full of heat, let's shower you off with this."

Giroro-san took a quick glance at the board, then gulped nervously. In front of him was a big chalkboard full – and when I said full I mean **full** – of numbers, algebraic letters, Fibonacci patterns, Greek symbols and various functions. "W-What the f***…"

"That's right! All you have to do is solve each and every problem!" Keroro-san said happily, only to get a punch on the head from Giroro-san.

"Stupid f***ing a******; I have no time for this kinds of idiocy!" The red Keronian growled. _(__**A/N**__: Sorry about the language, tell me if you're not comfortable with it.)_

"Then what kinds of idiocy do you have time for?" Keroro-san asked with a smart-ass tone. "Flirting with Natsumi-dono? Daydreaming about Natsumi-dono? Asking for a date with Natsu- Ow!" He stopped teasing as Giroro-san smacked him repeatedly.

While everybody sweatdropped at the scene, Tamama fumed at his seat. "Don't you dare hit my Gunso-san like that!" He yelled. "TAMAMA IMPA-"

"No! Please, don't hurt Gunso-san!" Fuyuki pleaded. Momoka watched him with tears in her eyes while mumbling, "I'm sorry I can't do anything, Fuyuki-kun. I'm…" And then I saw the girl's curls turned into sharp spikes. She stood up and turned to face Tamama.

"DON'T YOU DARE DO THAT, TAMA-KOU!" Momoka yelled louder. "IF YOU DARE HURT FUYUKI'S BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD," She paused to crack her knuckles. "YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU RIGHT…? ANSWER ME!!!"

"Y-Yes, Momocchi…" Tamama squeaked, trembling in his seat as everybody sweatdropped at the scene. Even Giroro-san stopped smacking Keroro-san to look at what happened.

Looking at this view made me remember of what happened when I first found out that my sister is capable of speaking regular Keron language. By the way, if you don't like flashbacks, tell me.

* * *

"_Neechan, can you speak regular Keron language?" I asked._

_It was already the 5__th__ day since she was adopted as my sister, and yet I still can't communicate with her. The only problem was the language barrier. Eventhough we both speak Keron language, she used the ancient version while I used the regular version – the one mostly used now._

_The sterling silver tadpole nodded and said, "Perfected Project no 409."_

"_That's it?" I asked again._

"_That's my codename in HQ." She added._

_I sighed. "Yes, I know that's your codename, neechan."_

"_I mean, I can mention my codename in HQ." She said._

"_Oh." I blinked. "Can you say anything else?"_

"_America. India. Indonesia. Japan. Russia. Australia. England. France."_

"_Pekopon's countries…? How did you know about that?"_

"_From memory lookup: Local folder S://Data/Pekopon/Country."_

"_How did they input that in your mind?"_

"_I am a half-synthetic-half-natural life form. I thought you knew."_

"_Right… Well, can you say anything else – Other than Pekopon stuff?"_

"_Macaroni. Pasta. Spaghetti. Fettuccine. Scallop. Tempura. Sushi. Sashimi."_

"…_Pekoponian food…? I thought I said non-Pekopon stuff."_

_Right then, she popped a vein and screamed, "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, TORIRI?! STOP QUESTIONING YOUR SISTER CONTINUOUSLY, YOU UNDERSTAND…? ANSWER ME!!!"_

"_Y-Yes, neechan…" I squeaked, trembling at the spot. I didn't expect her to blow up like that and nobody can blame me if she did. Okay, maybe it was my fault, but what's wrong with questions…?_

* * *

I smiled at the memory. It was quite funny, remembering how we started with a simple conversation of language and how we ended with my sister screaming while I stay quiet as mouse. And from that day on, I never questioned her continuously.

But on that time, I didn't figure out that she had split personalities. The one who warned me about her multiple sides was my dad. He worked for HQ in the science section, and his knowledge seemed to have went down to Taroro as well – He was able to identify 50 kinds compounds, 50 kinds of mixtures and 100 kinds of elements at the age of 6. By the way, he's 15 today, so just think of all those scientific things he could mention now. On the contrary, my abilities in combats were passed from my mom's superiority in that area.

Anyways, since my dad worked on the science section, he knew all the details about the so-called Perfected Project no. 409, or in other words Tsukiki. And one of things that he overheard was the accidental mistake that happened when my sister was created.

* * *

"_Toriri-kun, there's something I need to tell you."_

"_What is it about, dad?"_

_He looked down at me, his face serious. "It's about Tsukiki-san."_

_I frowned. "Dad, stop calling her with the honorific. She's a part of our family already."_

_His face remained unchanged. "Toriri, this is no time for unimportant talk. I have to tell you something that happened when HQ created your sister with super carbon."_

"_Hmm, go ahead."_

"_When they input necessary emotions into her, something wrong happened. They inserted a wrong command and ended up adding sweet, kind, casual expressions into her mind while she was supposed to be a cold, cruel, ruthless weapon. We tried to cancel the process, but most of those emotions had been implanted permanently. Luckily, we managed to put up a barrier to prevent them from going out at wrong times." My dad explained in a dark tone._

"_Y-You mean… She was meant to be a weapon…?" I stammered._

"_She __**is**__ a weapon – A biotechnological weapon." My dad confirmed. "By the time she was fully created, your mom told me about how you were often sick, despite your great abilities in a battle. She feared that your illness might give away a chance to the enemy when you're on a mission, so she requested DNA transplantation for you. HQ agreed to use Tsukiki-san, since she had the strongest DNA ever known, eventhough that would mean making you a DNA transplantation experiment."_

_The lightning struck again – for the fourth time. I'm a DNA transplantation experiment…? My life was getting weirder and weirder all the time. What next, I actually have a robotic mind?_

"_And since Tsukiki-san had a half-robotic mind, that'd make your mind half-robotic as well."_

_Oh joy. My dad was actually telling his own son – me, about my abnormalities as a once-normal living organism. I bet nobody in Keron got the same experience I did._

_Just think about it: I was a happy, normal, 18-year-old tadpole (Currently I'm 27 – 3 years until I turn into a mature frog) that goes on with the flow of life. Then suddenly my whole normal life turned upside down, thanks to the DNA transplantation that I didn't even know about._

"_Toriri-kun," My dad called, snapping me out of my thinking. "There's also one more thing that you should watch about Tsukiki-san. Slowly as she became used to herself, the internal barrier that we put up for her emotions simultaneously got controlled by her: Starting from smiling, then to laughing, then to joking and such unnecessary things. We found out how the barrier wasn't effective anymore, so we secretly injected her with a chemical that was supposed to make her dark emotions rise up and rule over the light ones."_

_Wow, my sister's life was __**that**__ complicated? I never knew… At least until my dad told me._

"_But when your sister found out what we did to her, she fought against the reactions of the chemical… This resulted in her split personalities. You could say, an asymmetrical identity. From now on, you have to watch out for what she likes and what she dislikes. If you triggered her at the wrong time and wrong place, she might go wild and destroy things around her."_

_I gulped. Why did I accept a totally abnormal adoptive sibling again?_

* * *

Now that was not a funny memory. In fact, the sudden knowledge was a bit shocking to me. Who would be prepared enough to accept that your sibling is actually a seriously abnormal, multi-polar, biotechnological weapon – without notice beforehand? Answer: Nobody.

The scene in front of me was hilarious. Keroro-san kept on teaching the kids with alien stuff while the kids, in return, accepted the knowledge happily as what they call 'an unusually interesting subject'. But my mind was in tremor. I wish I hadn't remembered such memories.

I wish I hadn't.

* * *

"How was your first day at school as Hane Mametori?"

I sighed. "I'm fine, neechan, I'm very fine. Don't worry about me."

She looked at me from the corner of her eye. "You don't look and sound fine."

"Oh, really…?" I asked. "Well, for once I might be too tired."

"Don't lie to me, Toriri, I know you. C-Class assassins don't tire up that easily."

"Though I got DNA transplantation from you, my illness sometimes went up to the surface."

Suddenly, my sister did something that I never expected would happen. She stopped in front of me and turned around, then pulled me close to her face. "Look, little brother, if you keep all your feelings to yourself like that, you'll never advance maximally in your social life. I know I'm just your adoptive sister and all, but I do care for you – Even when I'm a biotechnological weapon. Like what they say, even the painting Monalisa has emotions. Why would a weapon not?" And with that, she turned again, her back facing me and leaped onto a rooftop.

I smiled. Of course, whatever she's done in the past, she's my sister and that is that. I don't care what people think of her, as long as she never really did any harm by purpose vengeance.

_Neechan, I like you the way you are. That's why, stay that way._

"Toriri-kun, don't just daydream on the streets." She called out to me with a wink that she rarely does. "We're assassins, and we travel in bizarre ways. Now hurry up here!"

"Y-Yes, sir, I'm coming!"

~ End of Encounter

* * *

_The tremor in one's heart  
Shall trouble the others'.  
The emotions of one are an art  
Treasure them than ignore them rather._

-- 963


End file.
